A crazy trade rumor had sent Marcelo Mayer to the Arizona Diamondbacks. By the evening, Craig Breslow, the Red Sox boss, had killed it. A fake report claimed that Boston had traded their young star for veteran hitter Ketel Marte. The rumor left everyone baffled, and it spread so fast that bosses from other teams texted Breslow to ask if he really made a deal.

His response quickly shut down the noise.

“There are some things that you see, and you’re like, ‘OK, that is not accurate, but I at least understand where it came from.’ And then some things are just blatantly false and don’t deserve a ton of attention, and this falls into that category,” Breslow said, according to the Boston Globe’s Alex Speier and shared by The Pesky Report’s Matthew Crory.

Just to be clear, no trade happened. Mayer is going to be with the Red Sox in 2026. However, despite the rumor being fake, it is not hard to see why it spread so quickly.

Because this is not the first time that Mayer has been rumored to be with the D-Backs. In late 2025, Boston wanted Arizona’s three-time All-Star second baseman, Ketel Marte. But the Diamondbacks demanded Mayer in return. The Red Sox refused to trade him, and the deal fell apart.

It was hence very much believable this time that Mayer gets traded to the D-Backs. The difference being this time, according to Crory, “Officials with both the Red Sox and Diamondbacks were baffled.”

Marcelo, however, did not care much. “I’m here to play baseball, not to read Twitter,” he said.

He proved it on Monday night. He hit his third home run of the season against the Tampa Bay Rays, right when the rumors were everywhere.

Since his MLB debut last year, Mayer has yet to be at his best. He finished 2025 with a .228 average, and this year, it’s around .222. But still, the Red Sox view the 23-year-old infielder as a long-term foundational tenant of the roster. The reason could be his higher ceiling. Mayer is coming off a career .273 average in the minors, and he finished 2024 with a .307 average.

Moreover, he is playing under a pre-arbitration contract, making a base salary of $783,500, and he won’t even hit free agency until 2032. For a team focusing on payroll sustainability and building a consistent championship contender, keeping an elite young player with years of team control is a high priority. However, keeping Mayer does not mean Boston is not interested in acquiring Marte.

“Ketel Marte continues to frustrate segments of the Diamondbacks organization by opting to take days off,” Underdog MLB quoted Bob Nightengale.

If the D-Backs are open to trading Marte, there’s no reason for the Red Sox not to get interested in him. Marte is hitting .246 with 11 HRs. And the Red Sox have struggled with a losing record all year. They are currently 10 games under .500. needs the same dose of offense to survive. Time will tell if they eventually give up on Mayer for Marte, but an immediate offensive punch is all the Red Sox need now.

The Red Sox’s offense is gasping for help

The Red Sox are currently ranked last in the AL East with a 27-37 record. As per Masslive’s Sean McAdam, “Red Sox’ primary issue remains the same — not nearly enough offense.” This month, Boston played six games and scored two runs or fewer in four of them. As per Gabrielle Starr, they couldn’t even make more than 7 hits in their last 4 games.

So, the Red Sox undoubtedly require new names at the plate to lead the charge.

While Marte is on the list, the Tigers’ Gleyber Torres is also rumored. The Tigers signed a qualifying deal with Torres, and if they make him available, the Red Sox should be the ones leading the race. Although Torres missed a significant time due to injury, he is slashing .270/.386/.365 with a .751 OPS since his return. He also walked 26 times and struck out 29 times, which should attract the Red Sox.

The Red Sox already had a low-key offseason, and that is costing them now. Breslow could still set the record straight by going all out by the deadline. However, let’s see what they need to give up in doing so.