Red Sox News & Links: Marcelo Mayer Shut Down For Season

A frustrating partial season in AA has come to an end for Marcelo Mayer. The super prospect will miss what little remains of the Portland season as he continues his recovery from shoulder inflammation. The good news is that he’s progressing and is set to resume baseball activities in Fort Myers next week. The bad news is he ends he year on a down note, having slashed just .189/.254/.355 with 6 homers in 43 Eastern League games. That’s still not much of a sample size, though, and a lot of his underlying metrics indicated he may have been the victim of some bad luck (his BABIP in Portland was around 100 points lower than it was in Salem and Greenville), so it’s still a little early to worry about his long-term development. (Alex Speier, Boston Globe)

There aren’t any reports of shoulder issues with James Paxton, but he’s being given a bit of a breather to try to get back on track. Had he maintained his regular spot in the rotation, Paxton would have started last night’s game against the Rays. But he’s being pushed back until the opener of the Yankees series next week. (Julian McWillams, Boston Globe)

Nick Pivetta wasn’t too impressive last night by conventional standards (he gave up 7 hits in just 4.2 innings) but it was impressive in light of the fact that he’d pitched in relief just three days prior. Alex Cora was impressed and let the Canadian righty know that when he took the ball from him. (Adam London, NESN)

Could the pitching staff get some unexpected help? Zack Kelly, who has been sidelined since April, made a rehab appearance in Salem on Tuesday. Getting back to Fenway this year is a long shot, but who knows. (Luke Scotchie, Boston.com)

Last week, Red Sox beat reporters spied Alex Verdugo and Chaim Bloom engaging in a lengthy post-game conversation on the field at Fenway. The pictures gave rise to speculation whether it was a discussion about Verdugo’s future, but the outfielder says it was a “personal catch-up.” (Ryan Gilbert, WEEI)