When the Boston Red Sox lost Alex Bregman to the Chicago Cubs, many assumed that meant Marcelo Mayer was set to start the season in the big leagues at either third base or second base.
After the Red Sox acquired Caleb Durbin, many assumed he and Mayer would play third base and second base. However, Alex Cora told reporters on Friday, per MassLive's Christopher Smith, that Mayer still needs to earn his spot on the team, and that it is not a guarantee he will be on the opening day roster, let alone one of the Red Sox's starters.
Cora also outlined what Mayer needs to do in order to make the team. He may have made his debut last season, but he did not hit the ground running like fellow rookie Roman Anthony did.
"He wasn't great offensively last year," Cora said, per Smith. "He'll be the first one to tell you that. Defensively, he was excellent. Base running-wise, he's really good. But offensively, there's more. We know that, but he has to show us that he can handle this."
Mayer's defense was great in his first go at playing in the big leagues. Whether the Red Sox play him at third base or second base should not change the fact that he can be a great defender for the Red Sox. However, his bat has not proven to be valuable yet.
In Triple-A last season, Mayer had a .271/.347/.471 slash line. He had nine home runs and 43 RBIs in 43 games. However, he was hitting just .228 with a .674 OPS in the big leagues before his injury. He was starting to swing the bat better, hitting .276 in his last 10 big league games.
The Red Sox offense has to find a way to replace the production they were getting from Bregman. Durbin and Willson Contreras will be part of that, but having Mayer turn into a good big league hitter would be huge. He was one of the best prospects in the organization before getting called up, so they expect great things out of him.
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