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Why Red Sox are trading Marcelo Mayer to Gaints for Erik Miller originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Boston Red Sox have been making some massive moves at this year's trade deadline, acquiring Curtis Mead in one deal, and later Adley Rutschman on deadline day.
But one of the more unexpected moves came a little later, under an hour before the deadline passed. According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, the Red Sox are close to trading away Marcelo Mayer in a deal with the San Francisco Giants.
In this reported trade, the Red Sox would be getting back reliever Erik Miller. It's a massive trade, with Mayer, a former top prospect for the Red Sox, headed to the Giants. But why did they make such a bold move with Mayer when they didn't have to?
Why Red Sox are trading Marcelo Mayer to Giants
"Giants closer to acquiring Marcelo Mayer from Red Sox for reliever Erik Miller, sources tell me and Andrew Baggarly," Rosnethal reports.
This is a major change for the Red Sox, as they're shipping out one of their young infielders, who was once a top prospect in the farm system, not long after he's made his big league debut.
Mayer is just 23 years old and has had just 332 at-bats in the Majors so far. He has seven home runs, a .223 batting average, 74 hits, 0.3 bWAR, and a .625 OPS in his big league career.
Though his production has taken a step back this season before he landed on the injured list, with a 69 OPS+ telling the story, this is still a surprising deal for the Red Sox.
Mayer is under club control through the 2031 season, but this move shows that the Red Sox don't believe him to be in their long-term plans.
MORE: Red Sox expected to trade Jarren Duran during offseason, not MLB trade deadline
Caleb Durbin, Curtis Mead, and likely a new shortstop will make up the Boston infield, leaving little room for Mayer on the big league roster.
So, trading him makes sense. But, how did they do in their trade? Erik Miller is an interesting reliever who is 28 years old and under club control through the 2029 season.
He has a 2.76 ERA this season with a 2-0 record, and four saves with 45 strikeouts in 32.2 innings of work. He's a good left-handed reliever and will be a nice pickup for the Boston bullpen.
But, to acquire such a player by trading Mayer at likely his lowest value, is a bit risky. However, if he returned and struggled some more, his value might have gone down even further.
This is a bold trade for the Red Sox, and one that Craig Breslow is sure to be questioned about for the foreseeable future. But, in the short-term, Mayer doesn't have a clear spot on the roster, and Miller could be a big help come the postseason out of the bullpen.
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