Early this spring training, Alex Cora told Marcelo Mayer that he needs to see improved offense from him to justify a placement on the Boston Red Sox's Opening Day roster. In that category, Mayer has delivered.
The 23-year-old has slashed .273/.407/.409 with a home run and five walks over eight spring training games. He's also maintained his smooth, clean defense so far.
The other thing Mayer needs to do to stick on the major league roster is stay healthy. But he was scratched before the Red Sox's March 15 Grapefruit League game against the Minnesota Twins. The infielder has been sidelined with left knee soreness (first reported by Christopher Smith of MassLive). Top infield prospect Mikey Romero has taken Mayer's place in the lineup.
It isn't yet clear if Mayer's knee soreness will cause him to miss playing time. He had the inside track to make the Opening Day roster as the starting second baseman, but a long recovery time would gift that opportunity to Isiah Kiner-Falefa or Andruw Monasterio. An injured list stint would be particularly devastating for Boston, since Romy Gonzalez will be out of action for at least the next 60 days after he underwent shoulder surgery to address a lingering injury from the end of the 2025 season.
Marcelo Mayer scratched from Red Sox spring training game with left knee soreness
Mayer has had a long history of injuries in his short career. He made his major league debut after Alex Bregman injured his quad in May of last season and only lasted 44 games before re-triggering a wrist injury that he also had during his time in the minor leagues. He opted for surgery to fix his wrist, but other things can always pop up.
Mayer has never played more than 91 games in a season, and his 91-game season was in 2022, just his second year as a Red Sox prospect. Any missed spring training games could hurt Mayer's chances to make the Opening Day roster, since March 26 is less than two weeks away.
Fortunately, Kiner-Falefa and Monasterio have looked solid in spring training so far. IKF has batted .407/.500/.481 across 12 games and Monasterio is slashing .310/.417/.483, also over 12 games.
With any luck, Mayer's knee injury will be minor and the former top prospect will be able to show what he's made of over a full season in the big leagues alongside Roman Anthony. But if he needs to miss any playing time in spring training, it could mean another shortened season.