Marcelo Mayer stood in the Red Sox dugout Tuesday afternoon, watching his teammates go through their pregame drills and batting practice Tuesday afternoon.
He hasn’t played since July 23, when he exited the game in Philadelphia with right wrist pain and went on the 10-day injured list with a sprain.
But on Tuesday, the black brace he’s worn ever since was noticeably absent.
Taking questions by the dugout, the rookie specified that he injured his Triangular Fibrocartilage Complex (TFCC), the ligament, tendon and cartilage structure on the outer side of the wrist that stabilizes and cushions the area. It’s the same injury as a Red Sox minor leaguer in ‘22, he said.
The Red Sox sought multiple opinions, and Mayer had options. He could wait for the injury to heal on its own, or go a route with an even longer wait time.
“Surgery was on the table,” he said. “I want to get back on the field as soon as possible. We have a great team and all I want to do is play, so obviously we went with the injection route, and hopefully I’m good enough to play. And if not, I know that I gave it 100-percent trying to get back on the field.”
For now, Mayer and the Red Sox hope the anti-inflammatory injection he received Saturday will be enough. He had to wait three days while it took effect, which brought him to Tuesday. That the trainers allowed him to remove the brace for a prolonged period of time was promising, but the rehabilitation check list is a long one.
“I still need to go through all the strengthening stuff, get range of motion back, and kind of work from there,” he explained.
“It’s still like, a little sore just from the injection itself,” said Mayer, though he noted it feels very different. “From when I was in Philly, 100-percent. Yeah, yeah I think it’s definitely calmed down since then.”
Timing is a sore subject as well. Following Wednesday’s series finale with the Royals, the Red Sox will fly to Mayer’s hometown of San Diego for a weekend series.
Normally, a rookie’s first career games at their local big-league ballpark are an emotional, triumphant affair, laden with friends and family.
Mayer isn’t merely unable to play, he’s not even making the trip.
“Don’t bring it up,” he said, a wistful smile on his face. “Next question.”
“I need to stay here,” Mayer added. “Do rehab and work hard to get my wrist back to a place where I can play. Obviously it sucks that I’m not going to be going to San Diego, but I have business to take care of. The important part to me is being out on the field and playing.”
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