Tag: mlb

Red Sox’ Chris Sale punches out 9 over 3 2/3 innings in second rehab start for Double-A Portland; left-hander in line to start for Triple-A Worcester on July 31

Red Sox ace Chris Sale completed his third rehab start and his second for Double-A Portland at a sold-out Hadlock Field on Sunday afternoon.

Matched up against the Harrisburg Senators — the same team he faced on Tuesday — Sale yielded two earned runs on six hits, no walks, and one hit batsman to go along with nine strikeouts over 3 2/3 innings of work for the Sea Dogs.

The veteran left-hander was slated to pitch four or five frames depending on his pitch count, but a laborious third inning that required 28 pitches ultimately cut his day short.

After maneuvering his way around a two-out double in an otherwise clean first inning and striking out the side while stranding a runner in the second, Sale ran into a bit of trouble in the top half of the third.

There, he served up a leadoff home run to the Senators’ No. 9 hitter in Osvaldo Duarte before giving up a double and bunt single. Two straight punchouts brought the lefty to within one out of escaping the jam, but he plunked a batter to load the bases.

With two outs and the bases full in the third, Sale fanned Jackson Cluff on a swing-inducing slider to get out of the inning and then recorded the first two outs of the fourth before a two-out double marked the unofficial end of his outing.

In relief of Sale, Sea Dogs reliever Dominic LaBrutto allowed the lone runner he inherited to score on an RBI single, thus officially closing the book on Sale’s afternoon.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 64 (46 strikes), the 32-year-old hurler wound up retiring 11 of the 18 hitters he faced, as he hovered around 94-95 mph with his four-seam fastball and topped out at 96 mph with it while mixing in his slider and changeup as well.

For Sale, Sunday’s performance marked yet another milestone on his road back from Tommy John surgery, which he underwent nearly 16 months ago on March 30, 2020 — his 31st birthday.

In the time since undergoing that procedure to repair his UCL last spring, the 6-foot-6 southpaw has now made three rehab starts between the Florida Complex League Red Sox and Sea Dogs dating back to July 15. He has seen his pitch count rise from 39 to 49 to 64 in each of those outings.

Assuming he wakes up without issue Monday morning, Sale will be in line to make his next rehab start for Triple-A Worcester next Saturday, July 31, as the WooSox will be taking on the Buffalo Bisons at Polar Park.

There is a slight chance that could be Sale’s last minor-league start before he re-joins Boston’s major-league rotation, though Red Sox pitching coach Dave Bush recently told The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier that the club wants the seven-time All-Star to be at a point where he contribute five to six innings on 80 or so pitches every five days prior to him being activated off the injured list.

(Picture of Chris Sale: Matt Stone/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images)

Franchy Cordero set to make first career major-league start at first base in Sunday’s series finale against Yankees

Are you ready? Because Franchy Cordero is making his first career major-league start at first base for the Red Sox in Sunday afternoon’s series finale against the Yankees at Fenway Park.

Cordero, who was recalled from Triple-A Worcester on Thursday, went 0-for-1 with two walks in his return to the Boston lineup in Saturday’s 4-3 loss to New York while starting in right field and batting eighth in Red Sox manager Alex Cora’s lineup.

The 26-year-old will get the start at first base while batting ninth to close out the weekend for the Sox in the club’s 100th game of the season.

In his time with Worcester, Cordero did see the majority of his playing time come in the outfield, but he did make six starts at first base and did not commit a single error in the 33 innings he played at the position.

One of five players the Red Sox acquired as part of the three-team trade that sent Andrew Benintendi to the Royals, the 6-foot-3, 226 pound left-handed hitter was originally signed by the Padres as a shortstop coming out of the Dominican in November 2011.

He played in 165 games at shortstop at the minor-league level as well as one at third base, but has been used strictly as an outfielder since making his big-league debut for San Diego in May 2017.

As he prepares to make his first-ever start at first base at the major-league level, Cordero will be going up against an opposing starting pitcher he has never faced before in the form of Yankees right-hander Domingo German.

Here is how the rest of the Red Sox will be lining up ahead of Cordero and behind left-hander Martin Perez on Sunday, who will be making his 20th start of the season for Boston.

First pitch between the 51-46 Yankees and 60-39 Red Sox is scheduled for 1:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN and TBS, weather permitting.

(Picture of Franchy Cordero: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Adam Ottavino blows save against former team as Red Sox waste Nathan Eovaldi’s gem, drop heartbreaker to Yankees, 4-3

The Red Sox appeared to be well on their way to a series-clinching victory over the Yankees at Fenway Park on Saturday evening, until the eighth inning happened.

Nathan Eovaldi had allowed just one earned run over 7 2/3 innings of work and handed things over to the bullpen with the Red Sox up 3-1 and needing just one more out to get through the top of the eighth.

Adam Ottavino came on in relief of Eovaldi, inheriting a situation in which New York had one runner on first base with the middle portion of their lineup due to hit.

The former Yankees reliever gave up a ground-rule double to Giancarlo Stanton that left the slugger’s bat at just 70.3 mph, but put runners at second and third for Rougned Odor, who cleared the bases on another two-base hit that knotted things up at three runs apiece.

Gleyber Torres followed by driving in Odor on a go-ahead RBI single, and just like that, the Red Sox found themselves trailing for the first time all day at 4-3.

Ottavino wound up getting charged with the loss and blown save, as the Sox fell to the Yankees in gut-wrenching fashion by a final score of 4-3.

Eovaldi’s strong start goes for naught

Eovaldi, making his 20th start of the season for Boston, was in cruise control through most of his outing on Saturday.

With the benefit of some early run support, the veteran right-hander put up seven consecutive scoreless frames to begin his day, never facing more than four Yankees in a single inning while retiring 20 of the first 25 batters he faced.

The eighth inning presented a different challenge for Eovaldi, though, as he served up a leadoff double to Estevan Florial and later let that runner score by giving up a two-out RBI single to Brett Gardner, which would be how his outing came to an end.

In came Ottavino after Eovaldi got the hook from Red Sox manager Alex Cora, and the righty allowed the lone runner he inherited to score before yielding two more runs of his own on three straight two-out hits that was capped off by Torres’ game-winning single.

As a result of how the top of the eighth inning ended for Boston, Eovaldi wound up surrendering two earned runs on seven hits, zero walks, and eight strikeouts over his 7 2/3 innings pitched. Of the 100 pitches the 31-year-old hurler threw, 82 — or 82% of them — went for strikes.

Red Sox offense gets on the board early, then sputters

Opposite Eovaldi to begin things in Saturday’s contest was fellow Houston-area native Jameson Taillon for New York.

Matched up against Taillon for a third time this season, the Sox scored early and often off of the right-hander.

Before the first out of the first inning could even be recorded, Kiké Hernández led off by lacing a hard-hit triple off the Green Monster. Upon reaching third base via a head-first slide, Hernández was able to score on an errant throw to third from Odor, giving the Red Sox an early 1-0 lead.

Kevin Plawecki doubled that advantage in the bottom of the second, as he drove in J.D. Martinez on an RBI double that left the backstop’s bat at an impressive 105.7 mph.

In the third, Jarren Duran’s elite speed on the base paths proved to be an effective weapon, with him reaching first and advancing to second on a ground ball that eluded Odor at second base and made its way to the outfield.

After advancing to third on a Xander Bogaerts groundout, Duran scored easily on a sacrifice fly from Rafael Devers, earning Devers his team-leading 80th RBI of the season to put the Sox up 3-0.

While it seemed like the Boston bats had Taillon’s number, the New York starter was able to settle in to the point where he held the opposition in check to the tune of seven quality innings of work in which only one of the three runs he gave up was earned.

Sox threaten late, but to no avail

Moments after the Red Sox saw the last of Taillon Saturday, the Yankees put together a four-run rally in their half of the eighth and essentially turned this game on its head in the process of doing so.

Finding themselves down by one all of the sudden, Boston threatened with two outs in the bottom of the eighth, as back-to-back singles from Bogaerts and Devers put runners at the corners for Martinez.

Martinez, matched up against Yankees reliever Jonathan Loaisiga, proceeded to rip a 90.3 mph line drive to right field, but it was one that was caught by Greg Allen to retire the side.

In the ninth, with struggling closer Aroldis Chapam on the mound for New York, the Sox nearly manufactured another late two-out rally, with Hunter Renfroe — pinch-hitting for Franchy Cordero — drew a two-out walk and Christian Vazquez — pinch-hitting for Michael Chavis — followed with a ground-rule double.

That dramatic sequence put the potential tying run at third base and the potential winning run at second base with two outs for Hernández, but he fell victim to a five-pitch strikeout that sealed a dispiriting 4-3 defeat for the Sox.

With the loss, the Red Sox see their four-game winning streak come to an end as they drop to 60-39 on the season.

The Rays, meanwhile, topped the Indians by a final score of 8-2 in their game on Saturday, meaning Tampa Bay and Boston will be tied atop of the American League East standings going into Sunday’s action.

Next up: Game No. 100

The Red Sox will play their 100th game of the 2021 season on Sunday afternoon as they go for the series victory over the Yankees.

Left-hander Martin Perez is slated to get the ball for Boston in the weekend finale, while right-hander Domingo German is lined up to do the same for New York.

First pitch Sunday is scheduled for 1:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN and TBS.

(Picture of Adam Ottavino: Winslow Townson/Getty Images)

Rafael Devers leads the way with 2-homer, 5-RBI night as Red Sox come back to top Yankees, 6-2

On a night where they lost starter Eduardo Rodriguez due to migraine symptoms early on, the Red Sox were still able to get it done against the Yankees at Fenway Park on Friday.

Powered by eight strong innings from the bullpen and a two-home run, five-RBI night from Rafael Devers, Boston defeated New York by a final score of 6-2 to take the first two games of this four-game weekend series.

Rodriguez, in what was his 19th start of the season, was forced to exit this contest in just the second inning because of migraine-related issues.

The left-hander had just yielded an RBI double to Brett Gardner with no outs in the second, and went into a crouch shortly thereafter before being visited by Red Sox manager Alex Cora, pitching coach Dave Bush, trainers, and his teammates on the mound.

After a few short moments, Rodriguez headed to the Sox dugout as his outing came to a premature close.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 25 (16 strikes), the 28-year-old hurler wound up surrendering one earned run on two hits and one walk to go along with one strikeout over one-plus inning of work.

In relief of Rodriguez, Phillips Valdez — who was just recalled from Triple-A Worcester earlier in the day — was forced into an emergency spot, and he did his job, and then some.

Making his first major-league appearance since June 9, Valdez escaped a bases-loaded jam to get out of the top of the second unscathed before stringing together two additional scoreless frames in which he recorded a career-best seven strikeouts.

Yacksel Rios took over for Valdez in the fifth, and he put up another zero to keep his side within one run at the midway point.

That would prove to be fruitful for the Red Sox lineup, who at that point had been held in check by Yankees ace Gerrit Cole. Kiké Hernández led things off with a hard-hit single in the bottom half of the fifth, and Jarren Duran followed by lacing a line-drive, ground-rule double into the triangle to put runners in scoring position for Bogaerts.

Bogaerts delivered with an RBI sacrifice fly that was hit just deep enough to right field to bring in Hernández from third and knot things up at 1-1, while Devers kicked off his brilliant night by clubbing a go-ahead two-run home run to deep center field — giving the Sox a 3-1 lead in the process of doing so.

Rios continued to keep the Yankees off the board in the sixth, as did Garrett Whitlock in the seventh to set the top half of the Sox lineup for success once more.

In the bottom of the seventh, matched up against New York reliever Nestor Cortes, back-to-back one-out singles from Hernández and Duran put runners at first and second with two outs for a red-hot Devers.

On the second pitch he saw from Cortes, a 1-0, 77 mph curveball at the top of the zone, Devers clobbered his second homer of the evening, with this one traveling 397 feet to center field with an exit velocity of 103 mph.

Devers’ second home run of the night, which was also his 26th of the season and the 100th of his major-league career, essentially put this one to bed, as it pushed the Red Sox’ advantage to five runs at 6-1.

From there, Darwinzon Hernandez maneuvered his way around a walk and a hit batsman in a scoreless top of the eighth, while Brandon Workman allowed one run, but otherwise shut the door on the Yankees to preserve a 6-2 victory for Boston.

With the win, the Red Sox improve to 60-38 on the season to maintain their one game lead over the Rays as well as the best record in the American League. They also extended their winning streak to three consecutive games.

Next up: Taillon vs. Eovaldi

The Red Sox will look to extend that winning streak to four straight ballgames as they go for the series victory over the Yankeeson Saturday afternoon.

Right-hander Jameson Taillon will get the ball for New York, while Boston will counter with fellow righty Nathan Eovaldi.

First pitch Saturday is scheduled for 4:05 p.m. eastern time on NESN and FS1.

(Picture of Rafael Devers: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox’ Eduardo Rodriguez forced to exit Friday’s game against Yankees with migraine symptoms

Red Sox starter Eduardo Rodriguez was forced to exit Friday night’s game against the Yankees due to migraine symptoms, the team has announced.

Rodriguez was removed in the second inning after giving up an RBI double to Brett Gardner. Upon allowing the hit and returning the mound, the left-hander crouched down in discomfort and remained in that position for several minutes.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora, along with pitching coach Dave Bush, assistant trainer Masai Takahashi, and several of his teammates paid Rodriguez a visit on the mound, and the 28-year-old came out of the game shortly thereafter. He was replaced by right-hander Phillips Valdez.

Prior to his night prematurely coming to a close, Rodriguez had thrown 25 pitches (16 strikes) as he retired the side in order in the first inning before yielding a leadoff walk to Gary Sanchez and back-to-back hits to Gleyber Torres and Gardner in the second. Gardner drove in Sanchez on his run-scoring double.

Rodriguez, making his 19th start of the season on Friday, came into play this weekend with an ERA of 5.19 and FIP of 3.51 through his first 18 outings (95 1/3 innings pitched) of the year.

The Venezuelan southpaw missed the entirety of the shortened 2020 campaign after contracting myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle) as a result of a bout with COVID-19.

As noted by MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo, though, Rodriguez has made all 19 of his scheduled starts this season after arm fatigue delayed his 2021 debut by a few days.

(Picture of Alex Cora, Eduardo Rodriguez, and Masai Takahashi: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox place Hirokazu Sawamura on injured list due to tricep inflammation, recall Phillips Valdez from Triple-A Worcester

Before taking on the Yankees at Fenway Park on Friday night, the Red Sox placed right-handed reliever Hirokazu Sawamura on the 10-day injured list due to right tricep inflammation.

In a corresponding move, fellow righty reliever Phillips Valdez was recalled from Triple-A Worcester, the team announced Friday evening.

Sawamura last pitched for the Red Sox this past Monday, throwing two pitches to record the final out of the seventh inning in a 13-4 win over the Blue Jays in Buffalo.

Including Monday’s outing, the 33-year-old hurler out of Japan has posted a 2.87 ERA and 4.08 xFIP to go along with 44 strikeouts and 18 walks over 38 relief appearances spanning 37 2/3 innings of work in his debut season with the Sox.

According to MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo, “there was no indication that he was dealing with an injury before he was placed on the IL.”

Because his stint on the IL was backdated to July 20, the soonest Sawamura can be activated is next Friday, July 30.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters (including Cotillo) following Friday night’s win over the Yankees that he does not expect Sawamura to miss an extended period of time.

“It’s not bad,” Cora said. “It’s something we feel like… he wasn’t going to be able to post for a few days so we’ll take care of him and see where he’s at in a few days. Hopefully, he’ll be back with us sooner rather than later.”

Valdez, meanwhile, returns to the Boston bullpen after being optioned to Worcester on June 10.

The lanky 29-year-old opened the 2021 campaign with the Sox — his second with the organization — and put up a 4.24 ERA and 3.98 FIP over 20 games (23 1/3 innings).

From the time he was sent down to the WooSox in early June until the time he was called back up on Friday, Valdez pitched to the tune of a 3.38 ERA, allowing a total of four earned runs in 11 appearances that spanned 10 2/3 innings of relief.

As noted by Cotillo, Sawamura is the fourth player the Red Sox have had to place on the injured list since the All-Star break concluded, as he joins the likes of Marwin Gonzalez (right hamstring strain), Christian Arroyo (left hamstring strain) and Danny Santana (left groin strain).

(Picture of Hirokazu Sawamura: Rich Schultz/Getty Images)

Red Sox promote prospects Kutter Crawford, Durbin Feltman, and Grant Williams from Double-A Portland to Triple-A Worcester

The Red Sox have promoted a trio of prospects from Double-A Portland to Triple-A Worcester, the team announced Friday afternoon.

Pitching prospects Kutter Crawford and Durbin Feltman, as well as infield prospect Grant Williams, all received promotions from the Sea Dogs to the WooSox.

Crawford, 25, has put together a strong 2021 season for Portland after undergoing Tommy John surgery in October 2019 and having bone spurs removed from his throwing elbow the following summer.

In 10 starts with the Sea Dogs, the right-hander posted a 3.30 ERA and 2.87 xFIP to go along with 64 strikeouts to just five walks over 46 1/3 innings of work. He most recently put together an outing in which he allowed two runs on seven walks, nine strikeouts, and zero walks in six innings against the Harrisburg Senators on Wednesday.

Originally selected by the Red Sox in the 16th round of the 2017 amateur draft out of Florida Gulf Coast University, Crawford — who is listed at 6-foot-1 and 192 pounds — will wear the No. 31 for the WooSox.

Feltman, 24, opened the 2021 campaign in Portland’s bullpen and put up ERA of 3.29 and xFIP of 3.63 in addition to 37 strikeouts and 10 walks over 22 relief appearances spanning 27 1/3 innings pitched.

The Texas-born right-hander this season has averaged 12.2 strikeouts per nine innings and 3.3 walks per nine innings, which coincides with his strikeout rate of 32.7% and his walk rate of 8.8%.

Listed at 6-foot and 207 pounds, Feltman was selected by Boston in the third round of the 2018 amateur draft out of Texas Christian University. He will wear the No. 28 while with Worcester.

Williams, 25, was promoted to the WooSox after seeing the majority of his playing time to start the season come in the middle infield for the Sea Dogs.

A former 10th round pick out of Kennesaw State (Ga.) in 2018, the left-handed hitter slashed .291/.326/.369 to go along with 10 doubles, two triples, 10 RBI, 31 runs scored, seven stolen bases, eight walks, and just 12 strikeouts over 52 games (193 plate appearances).

In those 52 games, Williams has played second base 47 times and shortstop seven times.

A native of Atlanta, Ga., Williams is listed at 5-foot-10 and 185 pounds. He will wear the No. 5 for the WooSox.

All three of Crawford, Feltman, and Williams are eligible for the Rule 5 Draft this winter, meaning they would need to be added to the Red Sox’ 40-man roster by the November 20 deadline in order to prevent that from happening.

(Picture of Kutter Crawford: Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.smugmug.com)

Kiké Hernández comes through in clutch as Red Sox come back to defeat Yankees, 5-4, in extras

The Red Sox were down to their final out in the ninth inning Thursday night, trailing the Yankees by a score of 3-1, and on the verge of dropping their third straight game to their division rivals.

With runners on first and second base, Kiké Hernández came to the plate having already driven in Boston’s lone run of the night. In front of him, Alex Verdugo was at second base, while Jarren Duran — pinch-running for Bobby Dalbec — represented the tying run on first base.

Matched up against Yankees reliever Chad Green, Hernández got ahead in the count at 1-0 before taking a 96 mph fastball down the heart of the plate and ripping a two-run double off the Green Monster.

Verdugo was able to easily score from second, while the speedy Duran came in all the way from first to knot things up at three runs apiece.

After Red Sox closer Matt Barnes allowed one unearned run to cross the plate in the top of the 10th despite tossing a 1-2-3 inning, Boston took advantage of a wild Brooks Kriske in their half of the frame.

The Yankees reliever began his night by throwing a pair of wild pitches that allowed Rafael Devers — who started the inning at second base — to score and tie it at 4-4 while Xander Bogaerts was at the plate.

Bogaerts himself walked, and he, too, moved up to third base on two more wild pitches from Kriske, which set up Hunter Renfroe to drive in the winning run with a sacrifice fly to right field.

With the 5-4 win, their 30th of the comeback variety this year, the Red Sox improve to 59-38 on the season while maintaining their one-game lead over the Rays for first place in the American League East.

Houck’s solid start shortened by rain

Well before all of Thursday night’s late-inning drama from Fenway Park, Tanner Houck made his third start of the season for the Red Sox, which was also his first major-league start in more than three months.

As he did out of the bullpen in the Bronx last weekend, Houck was fairly dominant against the Yankees this time around. The right-hander retired nine of the first 10 batters he faced before a pair of leadoff walks in the top of the fourth did him in, as Gleyber Torres brought in Brett Gardner on an RBI groundout to put New York ahead, 1-0, in that same inning.

Still, Houck got through the rest of the fourth unscathed and got the first two outs of the fifth before the volume of rain in the Fenway-area picked up and forced a 55-minute rain delay that would subsequently end his day prematurely.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 87 (54 strikes), the 25-year-old hurler wound up yielding just one unearned run on two hits, two walks, and eight strikeouts over 4 2/3 strong innings of work. His next start should come against the Blue Jays at Fenway next Wednesday.

After the rain delay

Following that lengthy rain delay, left-hander Josh Taylor came on in relief of Houck, got out of the fifth inning, and tossed a clean sixth inning as well.

In the process of the Red Sox bullpen taking over for Houck, the Sox offense was struggling to get anything going against Yankees starter Jordan Montgomery.

The left-hander held the Boston bats in check throughout his 5 2/3 innings of work, but they were able to finally break through in the bottom of the seventh.

There, after Darwinzon Hernandez had punched out a pair in the top of the inning, two straight one-out singles from Verdugo and Dalbec off New York reliever Lucas Luetge set something in motion.

Michael Chavis proceeded to rip a hard-hit groundball to third base that looked as though it could have gone for a double play, but Tyler Wade bobbled the baseball, thus preventing that from happening.

With the bases now loaded as the Sox lineup turned back over, Hernández came through with his first heroic of the night in scoring Verdugo on a game-tying sacrifice fly.

A Devers infield single very well could have continued the rally, but Dalbec was thrown out at home by Torres after trying to score from second, and that ended the inning.

Former Yankees reliever Adam Ottavino ran into some trouble against his old team in the top of the eighth, as he allowed the go-ahead run — and an additional run — to score thanks in part to allowing two walks, a stolen base, one hit, and one sacrifice fly off the bat of Torres that saw the Yankees go up 3-1.

Fast forward to the ninth, with Green on the hill for New York, Hernández delivered once more with that aforementioned game-tying, two-run double to left field to send this one to extras.

In the top of the 10th, Barnes yielded an unearned run in an otherwise perfect inning of relief, and would later earn his fifth win of the season when Renfroe walked it off on his sacrifice fly a half inning later.

By completing their 30th come-from-behind victory this year, the Red Sox have extended their winning streak to three consecutive games. As was previously stated, they are now 59-38 on the season, which is good for the best record in the American League.

Next up: Cole vs. Rodriguez

Friday’s starting pitching matchup between the Red Sox and Yankees will feature left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez getting the ball for Boston opposite ace right-hander Gerrit Cole for New York.

First pitch Friday is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Kiké Hernández: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox sign first-round pick Marcelo Mayer

The Red Sox have signed first-round draft pick Marcelo Mayer, the team announced Thursday evening.

Per The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier, Mayer — a shortstop — has signed with the Sox for $6.664 million. He is currently at Fenway Park with his family for Thursday night’s game against the Yankees.

Mayer, 18, was selected by Boston out Eastlake High School (Chula Vista, Calif.) with the fourth overall pick in the 2021 MLB first-year player draft earlier this month.

The recommended slot value for the fourth overall selection in this year’s draft was $6.664 million, meaning the Red Sox are signing Mayer to an at-slot deal.

Listed at 6-foot-3 and 185 pounds, the left-handed hitting, right-handed throwing infielder had been committed to play college baseball at the University of Southern California, but will instead unsurprisingly go pro out of high school.

Going into this summer’s draft, Mayer was regarded by many as the top prep prospect, if not the top overall prospect in a class that included the likes of Louisville catcher Henry Davis and Vanderbilt right-hander Jack Leiter.

With that sort of reputation, it seemed as though Mayer could land with the Pittsburgh Pirates, who had the top overall pick but instead took Davis. The Texas Rangers followed by selecting Leiter, and the Detroit Tigers took high school right-hander Jackson Jobe, allowing the Red Sox to draft Mayer at No. 4.

In his senior season with the Eastlake Titans this spring, the Southern California native slashed .392/.555/.886 along with six doubles, 14 home runs, 45 RBI, 46 runs scored, and 18 stolen bases over 34 games and 137 plate appearances, per MaxPreps.

By selecting Mayer with the fourth overall pick in this year’s draft, the Red Sox made — and have now signed — their earliest selection in a draft since 1967, when they used the third overall pick on right-hander Mike Garman.

Mayer, who does not turn 19 until December, will already be one of the top prospects in Boston’s farm system as soon as he reports to the club’s spring training complex in Fort Myers within the coming days.

Earlier Thursday, in his midseason top-50 prospects list, The Athletic’s Keith Law ranked Mayer as his No. 14 prospect in baseball, writing that “there was no runaway top prospect in this year’s draft class, but Mayer was the closest thing we had to a consensus No. 1, bringing the mix of floor and upside that tends to separate the best high school prospects from the rest.

“Mayer, who went fourth overall to the Red Sox, is a true shortstop who should develop into a plus defender there,” Law added, “and has the potential to hit for both average and power once he fills out.”

With Mayer signed and set for pro ball, the Red Sox have now signed five of their 20 draft picks, according to SoxProspects.com. Mayer joins the likes of Tyler McDonough, Daniel McElveny, Matt Litwicki, and Jacob Webb.

The deadline for clubs to sign their draft picks — as well as undrafted free agents — is August 1 at approximately 5 p.m. eastern time.

(Picture of Marcelo Mayer: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox place Danny Santana on injured list with left groin strain, recall Franchy Cordero from Triple-A Worcester

Before opening up a four-game weekend series against the Yankees at Fenway Park on Thursday night, the Red Sox placed utility man Danny Santana on the 10-day injured list due to a left groin strain.

In a corresponding move, first baseman/outfielder Franchy Cordero will be recalled from Triple-A Worcester, the team announced Thursday evening.

Santana returns to the injured list just three days after coming off it on Monday following a near two-week absence that came as a result of a left quadriceps strain sustained in Anaheim earlier this month.

In just his second game back from that quad strain, Santana, who started in left field, strained his groin while chasing after a fly ball in the seventh inning of the Red Sox’ 7-4 win over the Blue Jays in Buffalo on Wednesday night. He was immediately removed from the game, replaced in left field by Alex Verdugo, and later diagnosed with a tight left groin.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora seemed pretty certain that the versatile 30-year-old wound wind up on the IL as a result of him straining his groin, and that is what ends up happening.

Through 33 games with Boston this season, the switch-hitting Santana is batting .171/.230/.324 with two doubles, one triple, four home runs, 13 RBI, 11 runs scored, three stolen bases, seven walks, and 27 strikeouts over 113 trips to the plate. He has also played first base, left field, and center field.

At the moment, it’s unclear if Santana will require more than the minimum 10 days on the injured list, though the Dominican native could be activated as soon as Sunday, August 1 if that is the case.

Cordero, meanwhile, returns to the Red Sox nearly two full months after he was demoted to Worcester in late May.

One of five players Boston acquired as part of the February trade that sent Andrew Benintendi to the Royals, Cordero got off to a miserable start with the Sox in which he posted a .179/.228/.274 slash line to go along with just one home run and nine RBI over 34 games.

At the time he was sent down on May 27, the 26-year-old was viewed strictly as an outfielder, but he has since added another dimension to his game by working out at first base with the WooSox.

Of the 44 games he has played in a WooSox uniform, Cordero has patrolled first base six times and has yet to commit an error at the new position.

As noted by MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith, Cordero originally signed with the San Diego Padres out of the Dominican Republic as a shortstop back in November 2011. He made 164 starts at shortstop and one start at third base during his minor-league career, but has spent the entirety of his big-league career to this point in the outfield.

Offensively, Cordero got off to a torrid start upon getting optioned to Worcester, as he posted an impressive 1.129 OPS from the end of May through the end of June before running into a bit of a wall this month.

Following an 0-for-4 showing against the Lehigh Valley IronPigs on Wednesday, the left-handed hitter is now sporting a .224/.297/.328 slash line in the month of July.

That being said, in the absence of Santana, Marwin Gonzalez, and Christian Arroyo — all of whom are on the injured list, Cordero can provide the Red Sox with a boost from the left side of the plate.

Not only that, but the 6-foot-3, 232 pounder could also platoon with Bobby Dalbec at first base when he’s not playing the outfield.

Regardless of that, though, Cordero is not in the Sox’ starting lineup for Thursday’s series opener against the Yankees with left-hander Jordan Montgomery starting for New York.

Right-hander Tanner Houck will get the start for Boston opposite Montgomery.

First pitch Thursday is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN.

(Picture of Franchy Cordero: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)