Marcelo Mayer makes most of his spring debut against the Pirates on Monday afternoon
The Red Sox added top prospect Marcelo Mayer to their bench for Monday afternoon’s game against the Pirates at JetBlue Park.
Mayer saw his first spring game action coming into the game in the fifth inning, replacing Eddy Alvarez in the lineup. The former first round pick played shortstop and turned a double play.
The Calif. native made his presence felt with his bat during the home half of the seventh inning. With one out, Mayer was first pitch swinging and connected for a double into the left field corner off Pittsburgh’s Ryder Ryan.
Mayer showed off his beautiful left-handed swing while showing off that he is healthy after an injury-plagued 2023 season.
He started the season dominating High-A by hitting .290/.366/.524/.890 with 7 homers in 35 games out of the gate. Mayer was promoted to Double-A and struggled at the plate. Initially skeptics were questioning if the young infielder was having trouble adjusting to Double-A pitching. It was later learned he was dealing with an injured shoulder that eventually ended his season.
The team called Mayer’s injury a left shoulder impingement. At the Double-A level he hit .189 with 32 hits, eight doubles, one triple, six homers, 20 RBI, four stolen bases posting a .609 OPS. Overall Mayer will finish this season hitting .236, 74 hits, 19 doubles, two triples, 13 homers, 54 RBI, 32 walks, nine stolen bags and a .739 OPS.
“These last two years, I’ve gone through some injuries, my shoulder and my wrist,” Mayer said in mid-February. “A big one for me is just making sure I’m healthy on the field, which starts off the field. Last season was kind of a freak accident. I fell, I can’t really control that. Just doing whatever I can to stay on the field.”
Mayer is expected to begin the season with the Portland Sea Dogs once camp breaks in a few weeks.
