Boston Red Sox fans realize a basic truth that the club's manager, Alex Cora, is still avoiding: Marcelo Mayer must play every day.
When Cora gave Mayer the starting second baseman job just before the season started, it was under the condition that Mayer would be protected against left-handed pitching, preventing him from being an everyday player.
In Friday's home opener at Fenway Park, Mayer faced a lefty for the first time this season (San Diego Padres' Wandy Peralta), and on the very first pitch, Mayer smashed a home run over the right field wall. Yeah ... Mayer can hit lefties.
Marcelo mashes his first of the year! pic.twitter.com/A1fccULaPJ
— Red Sox (@RedSox) April 3, 2026
Alex Cora is holding back Marcelo Mayer (and hurting the Red Sox)
The sad part about Mayer's homer was that it almost didn't happen, thanks to Cora. According to MassLive's Chris Cotillo, Cora admitted following the game that he would have pinch-hit for Mayer with Andruw Monasterio if there had been runners on first and second, as Cora believes the right-handed hitting Monasterio was a more favorable matchup against the lefty Peralta.
Cora's admission reminded us all how stubborn he is about his excessive platooning strategy, and he's not going to let one home run change his outlook. In Cora's defense, Mayer struggled against MLB lefties last season, going 4-for-26 with 10 strikeouts, and his .638 OPS against Triple-A lefties wasn't great, either.
But Cora's ultimately wrong when it comes to platooning Mayer, for a few reasons. First of all, Mayer is just too good of an overall player to be kept out of the lineup regularly. Secondly, the only way that Mayer is going to improve against lefties ... is by facing lefties. And Friday's swing against Peralta, if anything, showed that Mayer has plenty of potential against left-handers.
In this sense, the value of one awesome swing can't go unnoticed (contrary to Cora's stance). One swing can point to the possibilities for a given player, provided that player is given sufficient opportunities.
Cotillo epitomized this sentiment when he posted to X shortly after the homer: "The Red Sox won't protect Marcelo Mayer against lefties for long with swings like that."
The Red Sox won't protect Marcelo Mayer against lefties for long with swings like that. First pitch against Wandy Peralta goes into the visitor's bullpen. 5-2.
— Chris Cotillo (@ChrisCotillo) April 3, 2026
Cora is constantly forced to defend his platooning philosophy to the press, and again, the recurring thesis from Cora is that one swing isn't making him rethink that philosophy.
"Today was his day," Cora said of Mayer, per Cotillo. “I think people made a big deal out of the whole (platooning) thing. At one point, he’ll face lefties."
But here is where Cora's defense got even more questionable: “It’s not only managing that player, it’s also managing the rest of the players on the roster. That’s what I get paid for ... I think he will hit lefties, but where we’re at right now with all the lefties we have in the lineup, we cannot just give them four or five lefties in the lineup against a lefty."
Having too many lefties in the lineup against a lefty is an undeniably bad thing, but why does it have to be Mayer who is benched? Mayer is one of the most talented bats — lefty or righty — on the Red Sox, and through seven games in 2026, only Wilyer Abreu has more extra-base hits for Boston than Mayer. That's a guy you want to be giving more plate appearances to, not fewer.
Red Sox can (and should) guard against lefty-heavy lineups without benching Marcelo Mayer
It can easily be argued that Mayer is a more dynamic bat than Jarren Duran right now, so if you don't want too many lefties in the lineup, remove Duran instead. Mayer isn't far off from Duran as a base-stealing threat, by the way.
Another strategy to make the lineup less lefty without removing Mayer: DH Trevor Story! Slot the right-handed hitting Isiah Kiner-Falefa in at shortstop, or move Mayer to shortstop for the day and put IKF at second.
IKF can also reportedly play first base. This gives Cora the flexibility to DH the righty Willson Contreras, an alternate strategy to the above.
Moreover, Cora can avoid any Masataka Yoshida lineups that don't also feature Ceddanne Rafaela. When Masa's lefty bat is in the fold, having the Duran-Abreu-Roman Anthony trio alongside Yoshida doesn't help the lefty surplus problem.
These are just some ideas to help guard against a lefty-heavy lineup — ideas that don't involve benching Mayer.
Ultimately, Cora is letting his platoon obsession get in the way of a basic principle: play your best players! Every day! Mayer is very clearly about to have a breakout season, but that won't happen if Cora keeps babying him.
It's time to swallow one's pride on the whole platooning thing, which has seemingly reached religious levels inside Cora's baseball mind. "Today was his day" was Cora's way of saying, "I'm still right about the platooning," but he's not. A more open-minded manager would have laughed at the question and said something like, "Well, if Marcelo keeps swinging like that, I'll have to change my mind."
Cora's stubbornness might benefit him in some ways — this is a World Series-winning manager we're talking about. But when it comes to managing a young roster brimming with talent, it hurts him and the Red Sox. You have to remain flexible, open-minded, and willing to swallow your ego if and when your young stars burst through the limitations you've placed on them.