Red Sox Notes: Marcelo Mayer to make his Portland Sea Dogs debut, former teammate speaks about his leadership, more system promotions

Marcelo Mayer is inching closer to Fenway Park, but first he must make a pit stop at Double-A Portland. 

Mayer will make his Sea Dogs debut Tuesday night on the road in Bridgewater, NJ against the Somerset Patriots.

The 20-year-old top prospect tore up High-A pitching prior to his promotion. The Chula Vista, Calif. native hit .290 with a .366 on base, .524 slugging, .890 OPS, 42 hits, 23 runs, 11 doubles, one triple, seven homers, 34 RBIs and five stolen bases.

His offensive ability is undeniable, defensively his skills are advanced for his age. Mayer’s feel for the game allows him to have a quick first step, swallowing up ground balls in the process and making elite throws from the position. Outside of his standout ability on the field, it’s what Mayer has been doing off the field that also has his teammates, coaches and the front office’s attention. 

“I’d say he’s more lead by example, he’ll speak up when it needs to be. Just his presence especially in Greenville, he was one of the younger guys and we have a very experience locker room, he was still that maintain presence,” said Red Sox pitching prospect Hunter Dobbins. 

Dobbins played with Mayer at High-A Greenville this season and raved about the young shortstop’s demeanor amongst his teammates. 

“Whether he was in the lineup or not, he made sure guys were doing what they needed to be doing, he was going to get his stuff done and hold you accountable without being in your face. 

“Any locker room that can have that dude in it is blessed because he’s always going to bring that energy, that calming presence. You know what you’re going to get out on the field. It’s 110% all the time time and then if you need to be picked up after a rough day he’s going to be right there to be the one to do it,” said Dobbins. 

More internal promotions

The Red Sox have been busy with a handful of internal promotions in addition to Mayer’s on Tuesday. 

Boston elevated right-handed reliever Theo Denlinger and infielder Christian Koss to Triple-A Worcester. The organization also promoted right-handed pitcher Christopher Troye to Double-A Portland and Brock Bell to High-A Greenville. 

Denlinger was acquired in February from the Chicago White Sox after the righty Franklin German was designated for assignment. The former seventh-round pick in the 2021 MLB Draft was 2-2 with a 4.47 ERA in 48 1/3 innings in 40 games last season. 

This season, Denlinger came out of the gate hot with 2.29 ERA in 19 2/3 innings of work, he’s held opposing hitters to a .149 average. He has given up 10 hits on the season and hadn’t allowed a homer until Sunday. 

SoxProspects.com’s director of scouting Ian Cundall spoke with a scout following the announcement of the trade. The scout said that Denlinger's fastball hits 93-95 miles per hour and slider 79-82 miles per hour. His fastball is his “best pitch” and can “miss bats up.” 

In December, FanGraphs wrote, “Denlinger has a plus fastball, sitting 94-96 with big movement. His slider looks good on paper but in-person scouts see it as very vulnerable.”

“He’s got a big-time power arm,” said White Sox director of amateur scouting Mike Shirley of Denlinger to MLB.com. “He is a former football player who just continues to unlock his stuff and go in the right direction.”

Koss was acquired from the Rockies in the winter of 2020 for minor league pitcher Yoan Aybar. The 25-year-old is hitting .224 with 30 hits, two homers, 10 RBIs and 11 stolen bases with the Portland Sea Dogs. 

Koss will provide the WooSox another shortstop on the roster to pair with David Hamilton. 

The former 12th-round pick out of UC-Irvine is an above-average defender and throwing arm. 

“Potential emergency up-and-down utility infielder. Hit tool development will be key to reaching his potential. Has enough defense and power to profile in a bench role, but upside is limited if he cannot make more contact,” per SoxProspects. 

Troye has been impressive for High-A Greenville, he owns a 2-0 record with a 1.96 ERA, 1.04 WHIP in 18 1/3 innings pitched (14 games). 

The UC-Santa Barbara product was a highly regarded prospect out of high school and was named an Under Armor All-American his senior year. He had elbow surgery in 2020 and also missed the first month-and-a-half of the 2022 season with an undisclosed injury. 

The 6-foot-4, 225-pounder possesses an impressive fastball that sits in the mid-90s and can reach 99 mph, according to SoxProspects. He also offers a 12-6 overhand curveball that sits around 83-84 mph. 

Bell was a seventh-round pick during the 2019 MLB Draft out of State College of Florida Sarasota. The right-hander posted a 4.58 ERA with 15 strikeouts and one save in 19 2/3 innings (11 games) with Low-A Salem Red Sox. 

He projects as a reliever as he develops within the Sox system. The 6-foot-4, 215-pounder has a high three-quarters arm slot with a four-pitch mix of a 92-95 mph fastball, which has touched 97 mph. He also features an 82-84 mph changeup with some drop, an 83-85 mph slider and a 77-81 mph curveball. The 25-year-old is the son of former MLB All-Star infielder Jay Bell. 

Ryan Sherriff recalled

The Sox also recalled left-handed pitcher Ryan Sherriff and placed Corey Kluber on the paternity left. Sherriff had a quick cup of coffee with Boston in mid-May pitching two scoreless innings and allowing one hit and walk walk while striking out one. 

The 33-year-old has been one of the few reliable relievers for the WooSox allowing six earned runs in 19 1/3 innings (2.79 ERA). 

Kluber was recently demoted to the bullpen after struggling through his first nine starts this season. He owned a 6.26 ERA and he's walked 18 batters in 41 2/3 innings. The veteran righty only walked 21 batters in 164 innings last season with the Rays.