New SF Giants infielder blasts a home run in first game of rehab assignment

On Thursday, new SF Giants middle infielder Marcelo Mayer began a rehab assignment with the Sacramento River Cats. In his second at-bat of the night, he blasted a home run to center field in a 4-3 win over the Las Vegas Aviators.

Mayer was lifted for Dario Reynoso after three plate appearances. Reynoso recently joined Sacramento from the San Jose Giants in a move to give that affiliate some extra bench coverage.

The likely plan was for Mayer to get only three at-bats. He has been recovering from a forearm injury since the end of June. The former top prospect joined the Giants earlier this month in a deal that sent Erik Miller and outfield prospect Carlos Gutierrez to the Boston Red Sox. At the time of the deal, Mayer had begun ramping up baseball activities, but had not yet appeared in a rehab game.

While this disastrous season is winding down, the addition of Mayer could give Giants fans a reason to tune in. He was viewed as one of the top prospects in baseball, ranking as high as No. 9 in MLB Pipeline's list before the 2023 season. Plus, Mayer was the No. 4 pick in the 2021 draft.

There is a sense that the Red Sox gave up on the 23-year-old middle infielder too soon. Over the past year, the Red Sox have traded away James Tibbs III, Kyle Harrison, and Connelly Early in head-scratching moves. The Harrison move has turned into a disaster, but the jury is still out on Tibbs III, Early, and Mayer. On the surface, these all looked like good moves for the acquiring teams.

There is a clear path to playing time in Marcelo Mayer's 2027 audition for the SF Giants

Once Mayer is ready to go, he will have a clear path to playing time with the Giants. Following the Luis Arráez trade and with Matt Chapman out for the remainder of the year, along with Casey Schmitt expected to be out as well, playing time has opened up at second base and third base.

Those are two positions where Mayer has experienced. He also has considerable experience at shortstop, but has not graded out favorably there in his brief major league career. Perhaps, the Giants will try that out as an option, too.

The left-handed bat has appeared in parts of the past two seasons with Boston, but struggled to a .625 OPS in 364 plate appearances. He flashes above-average raw power, even if that has not fully come through in the majors. The challenge for Mayer will be finding a way to reach base at a higher rate. His .278 career on-base percentage is far too low to be a viable starter, but he is on the younger side.

In six minor league seasons, Mayer has posted an .829 OPS, including a. .840 OPS at Triple-A. He has often played against older competition for much of his pro career, so there is still some development left to realize. The Giants hope that he can realize some of that in San Francisco.

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