After a thrilling walk-off Saturday night win failed to snap the Red Sox out of their doldrums, thanks to a disappointing outing from Brayan Bello in a 10-4 loss to Atlanta, Boston is once again left below .500, the only saving grace in this disappointing start to the season being the fact that the rest of the A.L. East has been a bummer, too.
Throughout the early part of the year, though, Red Sox faithful have been bale to cling to the notion that there are reinforcements on the way–namely two of the top prospects in baseball, infielder Marcelo Mayer and outfielder Roman Anthony.
It’s probable that both would already be with the big-league club except that veterans are in their path. For Mayer, it’s Trevor Story at shortstop, while for Anthony, it’s Jaren Duran in left and Wilyer Abreu in right.
But the drama that has unfolded at first base, where the Red Sox are struggling to find a player to replace injured Triston Casas, who will be out for the season with an ankle injury, could create an unexpected path, at least for Mayer.
Red Sox Won’t Move Roman Anthony
Already, the Red Sox have said they will not move Anthony, who has been an outfielder or DH in all 205 of his minor-league games, to first base. Anthony projects to be a terrific big-league hitter, and the Red Sox want to keep his focus there.
“I think just given [Anthony’s] age, there’s still an opportunity for him to develop in the outfield. Until you feel like that’s in a place where there isn’t just a massive opportunity cost to taking reps away, that’s where he should be focused,” Breslow told The Boston Globe. “And also, I think obviously, at some point he’s going to be impacting our major league team, and to throw another variable into the mix probably doesn’t make a ton of sense when that transition in and of itself can be difficult at times.”
Mayer won’t be moving to first, either, but with news hitting that rookie second baseman Kristian Campbell is taking reps to learn the position, a path has opened in which Mayer could, perhaps, move to second base with Campbell on first. But Mayer has played just six games at second in his career, though he worked there in spring training this year.
Or, the team could move Story to second and bring up Mayer to play short. Either way, Mayer’s bat would be welcome–he is hitting .273 with a team-high eight homers and 40 RBIs in 39 games.
Marcelo Mayer Set for ‘Ascension’?
This was a scenario broached by NESN Red Sox writer Jason Ounpraseuth this week. As Ounpraseuth noted:
“Boston ‘introduced’ Kristian Campbell to first base Friday. Manager Alex Cora noted the process could take weeks or months, but Campbell is willing to do what it takes to help the club.
“According to Cora, Campbell’s process has nothing to do with Rafael Devers. But it could lead to Marcelo Mayer’s ascension to the big league club. Mayer ideally would slot in at second base, with David Hamilton continuing his role as back up middle infielder.”
There are plenty of moving parts, but for a team that could use a kickstart, Mayer makes sense.
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