Will Marcelo Mayer make the Opening Day roster?

FORT MYERS, FLORIDA - MARCH 1: Marcelo Mayer #11 of the Boston Red Sox throws home for an out during the second inning of the spring training game against the Baltimore Orioles at JetBlue Park at Fenway South on March 1, 2026 in Fort Myers, Florida. (Photo by Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images) | Getty Images

It’s been an interesting couple of weeks for Marcelo Mayer to say the least. Before the games even started, Alex Cora made it clear that no roster spot was guaranteed for the No. 4 overall pick from 2021:

Alex Cora said Marcelo Mayer needs to earn a job on the Red Sox Opening Day, needing to show some things this spring. Asked what he needs to show, Cora said he needs to be better offensively than he was in the majors last year.

My bet would be he’ll be in Cincy, but Cora made it…

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— Christopher Smith (@SmittyOnMLB) February 20, 2026

By itself, Cora’s commentary packed some punch, but when you add in Mayer’s paltry playing time out of the gate this spring, it carries even more weight. So far, Mayer’s only played in three games, and there are 24 other guys in camp who’ve gotten more at-bats than him, including fellow infielders Trevor Story, Caleb Durbin, Andruw Monasterio, Max Ferguson, Isiah Kinder-Falefa, Vinny Capra, and Mikey Romero.

However, when given the chance, Mayer’s made the most of it with immediate impact. In his first game, he hit a home run in the second at bat.

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Then, he was flashing the leather in his second game on Tuesday:

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And on Wednesday, he was on base in two of his three plate appearances against the Yankees.

In other words, every time he’s been on the field so far this spring, he’s made an impact. If the plan was to send Mayer a message and get him to lock in and go to the next level this spring, things look good so far in the albeit ridiculously small (and largely irrelevant) sample size. Still, you can only make the most of the playing time you do get, and so far that’s happening this spring with Mayer.

So what’s going on here? Will Mayer be in the Opening Day lineup in Cincinnati in three weeks? Do the Sox think he has another gear he hasn’t tapped into yet and they’re trying to squeeze it out of him? With most of the stars gone for the World Baseball Classic over the next handful of days, Mayer should remain something close to the lead storyline in Fort Myers until further notice.

Talk about this, and whatever else is on your mind today, and as always, be good to one another.

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