MLB-NEWS: There has been some controversy over the Red Sox’s five-month absence of four starters. According to ESPN, Marcelo Mayer, a top Red Sox prospect, was placed on Double-A Portland’s seven-day injured list due to……

Marcelo Mayer, a top Red Sox prospect, was placed on the seven-day injured list of Double-A Portland.
According to the team’s MiLB.com transactions record, top Red Sox prospect Marcelo Mayer has been placed on Double-A Portland’s 7-day disabled list.

Mayer was taken out of the lineup on Wednesday as well as in the third inning of Portland’s game against Erie on Tuesday. The 21-year-old shortstop is experiencing hip discomfort, but Mac Cerullo of The Boston Herald reports that a brief absence is not anticipated.
After being sidelined with a left shoulder impingement last summer, Mayer—who is now listed by Baseball America as the top prospect in Boston’s farm system and the tenth best prospect overall—is having a successful season with Portland.

It should come as no surprise that Mayer has spent most of his defensive playing time this season at shortstop. For Portland, the 6-foot-3, 188-pound player has played 543 innings at short, making 10 mistakes in 212 opportunities. He’s also started nine games at designated hitter and one at third base.

When Mayer suit up for the American League at Globe Life Field in Arlinton, Texas last month, he became one of only two Red Sox position prospects—alongside Rafael Devers and Xander Bogaerts—to participate in multiple All-Star Futures Games. Mayer was originally selected with the fourth overall pick in the 2021 amateur draft out of Eastlake High School (Chula Vista, Calif.).