Red Sox place top prospect Marcelo Mayer on injured list

Marcelo Mayer, the Red Sox first-round draft pick in 2021, will go on the injured list for a sore right wrist.John Tlumacki/Globe Staff

Red Sox top prospect Marcelo Mayer has been placed on the injured list due to persistent soreness in his right wrist, and the 19-year-old is currently in Boston for testing and further evaluation of the condition, according to Red Sox farm director Brian Abraham.

Mayer has played just four games since April 23. Initially, the team was trying to give him a breather in his first professional season, but wrist soreness that developed during his non-game baseball activities resulted in a slower return to the field. He returned to the lineup on May 10, then again on May 15, May 17, and May 19.

Mayer — who bats lefthanded and throws righthanded — went 6-for-18 with four doubles over those four games, boosting his season line to .333/.386/.507 in 17 games with Salem.

Marcelo Mayer has hit the ball well lately, but wrist issues will sideline him for a stretch.John Tlumacki/Globe Staff

“It’s amazing — rolling out of bed, hitting three doubles,” Red Sox minor league hitting coordinator Reed Gragnani said last week. “It’s pretty unbelievable to be able to do that. He really doesn’t look like he’s lost any of the timing. He’s shown no signs of anything bothering him.”

But despite his performance, the wrist soreness recurred. It wasn’t more severe than it had been previously, but the fact that it wasn’t going away completely led the team to put him on the injured list and bring him to Boston for further testing.

The shortstop was taken by the Red Sox with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2021 draft — the team’s highest selection in more than a half-century.