Marcelo Mayer has finally arrived in Boston after two months of servitude in Wormtown, a name with a surprising history. Mayer has done what is and was expected to earn his shot, a shot that connects to Alex Bregman going on the injured list.
Staying will be the most challenging issue for Mayer, who will force an uncomfortable reality on management if he lights it up. The Red Sox may have some significant dead money decisions percolating in the inner sanctum at Fenway Park.
Mayer is not alone. Roman Anthony has also demonstrated in Worcester that he belongs at the highest level, patrolling Boston's outfield. But, since he's in the majors, we'll address Mayer first.
Mayer's position is shortstop, occupied by Trevor Story, who is mid-term on a six-year contract. Story is a model of inconsistency, capable of carrying the offense for a week and then reversing it. Injuries, power demonstrations, and outages have plagued Story's Boston years. Story is going nowhere —maybe.
Marcelo Mayer has been called up to the Red Sox. Is he here to stay?
As a historical note, Mayer could be similar to Jacoby Ellsbury, who was called up in July 2007 and one game in August. Ellsbury hit .316, returned in September and tore it up. Mayer could follow a similar path.
Baseball has changed dramatically regarding player movement, with union agreements in place to protect the player and the specter of a long-term contract limiting decisions. In the pre-free agent era, Story and Mayer could fight it out, or Story could be released. Now for Anthony's roadblock.
Masataka Yoshida has joined an ever-growing list of Red Sox contracts where money has been misspent. Yoshida has limited defensive ability, and his days as a DH evaporated when Rafael Devers assumed that role. Yoshida has about $48 million remaining on his five-year deal.
To keep Mayer and Anthony, the Red Sox would have to find buyers for Story and Yoshida, which would mean diving deep into the dead money pool and exceeding the infamous Pablo Sandoval contract.
Red Sox fans want Mayer to stick around, which means putting management in the fiscal hot seat of performance and team success at the forefront. Mayer is the future, and Story is the past.
Anthony's situation will percolate as Yoshida's 60 days on the IL run out. Boston's chief baseball officer Craig Breslow will have to work magic to get any return on Yoshida and not a significant bump up on that with Story. Teams know Boston is in a hard spot, and unless a club somewhere in contention has a devastating injury, it will be fiscally hammered.