The trade deadline dominoes are falling fast, and the Red Sox just made a big one. Boston is finalizing a deal to send infielder Marcelo Mayer to the Giants for left-handed reliever Erik Miller, with the swap still pending medical review. Ken Rosenthal broke the news first, and within minutes the entire baseball internet was refreshing for updates.
Giants close to acquiring Marcelo Mayer from Red Sox for reliever Erik Miller, sources tell me and Andrew Baggarly.
Jeff Passan and Mark Feinsand quickly confirmed the framework, with both noting the deal isn't done until it clears medicals. That caveat matters here, since Mayer has spent time on the injured list this year with a stress reaction in his left forearm, according to reports.
The Boston Red Sox are finalizing a trade to acquire left-handed reliever Erik Miller from the San Francisco Giants for infielder Marcelo Mayer, sources tell ESPN. Deal is still in medicals.
Mayer was the 4th overall pick back in 2021 and for years carried the label of Boston's shortstop of the future. That never quite materialized at the big-league level — he's hit.220/.282/.312 in 228 plate appearances this season with underwhelming exit-velocity numbers, and the Sox have since turned to Franklin Arias as their next answer up the middle. A pedigree that big getting moved for bullpen help says a lot about how far his stock has fallen.
On the other side, Miller gives Boston exactly what a playoff-hopeful team wants in August: swing-and-miss stuff with multiple years of club control. The 28-year-old Stanford product has posted a 2.76 ERA with a near-97 mph fastball and four saves out of a closer-committee role for San Francisco this season, pairing a heavy ground-ball rate with big strikeout numbers. He's controllable for roughly 3.5 more seasons, so this isn't a rental.
The Red Sox are close to acquiring LHP Erik Miller from the Giants for INF Marcelo Mayer, per source. @Ken_Rosenthal and @extrabaggs were on it.
For the Giants, the move fills a need created earlier in the day when they shipped Luis Arraez to the Phillies, leaving a hole at second base that Mayer is now expected to compete for. It's a change-of-scenery bet on a former top-20 prospect in baseball, the kind of swing San Francisco has made before at the deadline. For Boston, it's simpler math: cash in a prospect who's stalled for a big-league arm who can help right now.
Deadline deals like this always come with the medicals disclaimer, so nothing's official until both sides sign off. But if it goes through as reported, it's a clean changing-of-the-guard moment — one era of Red Sox prospect hype quietly closing while another bullpen piece walks in the door.