Marcelo Mayer‘s Triple-A Worcester debut, as Doris Kearns Goodwin would say, will probably have to wait ’till next year.

The Red Sox top prospect is likely miss the remainder of the season due to a lumbar strain, a team source confirmed to the Herald on Monday.

Mayer, outfielder Roman Anthony, and catcher Kyle Teel, known as Boston’s new ‘Big Three,’ were promoted to the top level of the farm system two weeks ago. It was a surprise to the shortstop, who hadn’t played since July 30.

“I didn’t expect it because I was hurt,” Mayer told the Herald later that week. “I didn’t think they would call me up.”

Mayer entered the season ranked in the top-15 among all MLB prospects by MLB.com, Baseball America, and Baseball Prospectus. In July, he was selected to the All-Star Futures Game for the second year in a row.

By month’s end, however, Mayer’s promising season took a turn for the worse. Double-A Portland put the shortstop on the 7-day injured list on August 1. They activated him on the 10th, but he didn’t play again. After his promotion two days later, he began doing baseball activities in Worcester, taking grounders and running the bases, but his debut kept getting pushed further and further back. On Aug. 20, the WooSox officially placed him back on the 7-day injured list.

Mayer’s 2023 campaign was also cut short, due to shoulder inflammation. During the offseason, he admitted that he’d made the mistake of trying to play through the injury.

Big-league manager Alex Cora didn’t have an update on Mayer before the Red Sox and Blue Jays resumed their suspended June 26 game on Monday afternoon, but admitted that the growing list of ailments gave him pause.

“Obviously, not ideal,” the Sox skipper said. “The injuries, obviously, from my end, you know, concerning, to be honest with you. We just got to make sure we keep him healthy, thats the most important thing.”

The WooSox hoped he’d be able to get in a game when they began this week’s home stand on Tuesday. Instead, he’s left Worcester for Fort Myers, Fla. to continue his rehab at the organization’s spring training complex.

“He had a good season, he did a good job,” Cora said. “There’s a lot of potential there.”