Marcelo Mayer Talks Battle For Red Sox Opening Day Roster Spot
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Marcelo Mayer Talks Battle For Red Sox Opening Day Roster Spot originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Boston Red Sox infielder Marcelo Mayer made his 2026 Spring Training debut on Friday, hitting sixth and starting at second base against the Atlanta Braves.
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The 23-year-old has been splitting third base duties during Red Sox camp in February with new acquisition Caleb Durbin (also practicing at second base), but manager Alex Cora has also made it clear that Mayer needs to earn his spot on the team's Opening Day roster.
Mayer discussed his offseason work and battle to make Boston's season-opening roster ahead of Friday's spring debut.
"Obviously this year, I’m coming in with Show experience," the former fourth overall pick said, referring to his 44 MLB games in 2025, according to The Athletic's Jen McCaffrey. "So it’s a little different, but I’m seeing it the same way. I feel like I still got to earn a job. I’m not Trevor Story. I don’t have a position stamp that I’m going to be playing Opening Day. For me, I feel like I still need to win a job, and I feel like (the team has) made that clear."
Mayer also talked about what he wanted to focus on over the winter, after his rookie campaign ended in August due to a wrist injury.
"The second I got home, I got to work because I knew there was no time to waste," he said. "I wanted to come in, in really good shape. And I think I did a really good job."
McCaffrey noted that Mayer came into Red Sox camp this year at 220 pounds (the most he's ever weighed) but he "feels fast and explosive, traits that will help him at the plate and in the infield."
The California native stole 16 bases in 66 games with Single-A Salem in 2022, nine between two minor-league levels in 2023 and 13 with Double-A Portland across 77 contests in 2024. Mayer had just two steals in 43 games with Triple-A Worcester last year though and was 0-for-2 in stolen base attempts with Boston last year.
"Speed was such a big part of my game when I was a little kid," he said, per McCaffrey. "That’s the way that I love to play. I love to play hard, I love to run, I love to steal bases, take that extra bag, and I felt it was just a good opportunity to get after it so I could start playing like that again."
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