Marcelo Mayer Traded From Boston To The Giants For Reliever Erik Miller Back

Marcelo Mayer's time in Boston is over. The Red Sox traded the 22-year-old shortstop, the fourth overall pick in the 2021 draft who was once a consensus top-10 prospect in all of baseball, to the San Francisco Giants for reliever Erik Miller in a deal reported by MLB Network's Joel Sherman ahead of Monday's deadline. The trade is pending a physical.

Mayer never became what Boston hoped he would. Injuries disrupted his development and he ends his Red Sox career with a .223/.278/.346 slash line across limited major league time.

The Giants, still in sell mode after dealing away Heliot Ramos and Luis Arraez, pivot here and acquire a young talent with upside they can develop on their timeline.

Miller is what Boston needed. The 28-year-old left-hander has had a breakout season in San Francisco's bullpen, a 2.76 ERA and 45 strikeouts in 32 and a third innings.

He is under team control through 2029, meaning the Red Sox are not getting a rental. He slots into a Boston bullpen that needed reliable late-inning depth as the club makes a playoff push.

The Mayer trade followed Boston's blockbuster acquisition of catcher Adley Rutschman from Baltimore and a separate deal with the Braves for outfield depth. The Red Sox, sitting solidly in Wild Card position, have had the most active AL deadline of any team.