MLB News: Red Sox Lose MVP Candidate, But Call Up Top Prospect

It's been a day of highs and lows for the Boston Red Sox. They learned that their All-Star third baseman and potential MVP candidate Alex Bregman is going on the injured list. That was the bad news.

Alex Cora told reporters that Alex Bregman is "going to be out for a while, very similar to ’21.”

Bregman missed a little over two months with a strained quad that season. pic.twitter.com/NcVO9aXurl
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) May 24, 2025

Bregman exited Friday’s win over the Baltimore Orioles in the bottom of the fifth inning with what was then called right quad tightness. However, upon starting his day on Saturday, Bregman said, "It’s worse than I thought."

Manager Alex Cora said that the star infielder is "going to be out for a while." Bregman himself called it a "Pretty severe right quad strain. Pretty similar to '21." That's an ominous reference for the BoSox, as in 2021, while with the Houston Astros, Bregman missed over two months with the same injury.

#RedSox Alex Bregman hits a ball off the wall. He leaves with an injury after a hard turn at first base and then returning to the bag. pic.twitter.com/hGuumObj43
— Mike Kurland (@Mike_Kurland) May 23, 2025

Boston's big offseason free agent signing, Bregman is batting .299 and is tied for first among AL third basemen with 11 home runs. His .553 slugging percentage leads all American League players at his position. He also boasts a .385 on-base percentage and a .938 OPS.

Will Devers go back to third base with Bregman out?

So does Bregman's absence mean that Rafael Devers can go back to playing third base? Um, nope. Cora says that Devers is not an option to move back to the hot corner. That should go over well with the three-time All-Star, don't you think?

In the meantime, the good news for BoSox fans, is that they have called up one of the top prospects in all of baseball, Marcelo Mayer.

The Red Sox are calling up MLB's #8 prospect Marcelo Mayer pic.twitter.com/bIMy2Smlxv
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) May 24, 2025

Mayer certainly isn't unfamiliar with the left side of the infield, as a shortstop. The 22-year-old, as noted by Jeff Passan, "will get the first shot at (Bregman's at-bats)."

Mayer, the 4th overall pick in the 2021 MLB June Draft, was slashing .271/.347/.471 at Triple-A with an .818 OPS, nine homers and 43 RBIs in 43 games.