Marcelo Mayer on not making the Red Sox Opening Day roster: 'I feel like I did earn a spot on that team'
Marcelo Mayer made his Triple-A debut on Friday in the WooSox’ season opener against the Syracuse Mets at Polar Park.
The top prospect is coming off an impressive spring training, playing smooth defense while controlling the strike zone, hitting .333 with a .983 OPS over 20 Grapefruit League games.
Despite his outstanding spring, Mayer was disappointed not to secure a spot on the Red Sox Opening Day roster.
“Yeah,” Mayer said during an appearance on WEEI’s Jones and Keefe show Friday afternoon from Polar Park. “All that stuff isn’t up to me. But as a player and based on performance, I feel like I did earn a spot on that team. With that being said, things didn’t go my way, and now I’m here. and I’m just going to get after it every single day. Keep doing what I’m doing.”
Cora wasn’t too worried over Mayer’s comments on Friday afternoon.
“Roberto Alomar cried when he got sent down in 1988, and he became a Hall of Famer,” Cora said.
The skipper stated that Mayer possesses the appropriate demeanor and comprehends his disappointment at not being selected for the team.
“He played well. He played good defense at different positions; the swing is on point. We had a good conversation when we sent him down,” he said.
“He’s just got to be patient. That’s the way it works. We’ve got some good players here.”
Cora said that the emergence of Campbell and the need for a right-handed bat factored into the decision of not adding Mayer out of camp.
“[Mayer] is very mature. He’s a good defender. He cares about defense,” Cora said. “He really does, which I love. It’s easy for him to play defense. Offensively, there’s a few things that we truly believe he needs to get better.”
Mayer played shortstop in the season opener and went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts. He will also see starts at second base and third base with Worcester, giving him more positional versatility that could help his chances of being promoted.
"It’s important for him to play third, play second," Cora said, “And he played well. He played good defense in different positions. The swing is on point. We had a good conversation with him. Now, he didn’t cry (like Alomar). But yeah, I saw the interview."
Mayer ranks as the No. 15 prospect in the game, according to Baseball America. The California native is knocking on the door to the bigs but needs to be patient and get the at-bats needed in Triple-A before he makes the leap to the big leagues.
"It’s good that he feels that way, but he’s gotta be patient. That’s the way it works," Cora said. “We’ve got some good players here. I think obviously balance means a lot to us offensively. And I think obviously Hammy (David Hamilton) and KC (Kristian Campbell) are going to do a good job. But like I said before with him, yeah, an injury away probably from being in the big leagues. But I think it’s the other way around. They’re gonna push us to make decisions."
Polar Park is just 44 miles down the Mass Pike from Fenway Park. Mayer will get the chance to debut with the Red Sox. He’s close, but patience will be the key for the talented infielder.
“It's all baseball,” Mayer said. “Obviously, I know I'm close, but I still have to handle my [stuff] here.”
Red Sox trade right-handed pitcher Noah Davis to NL West club
At one point, right-handed reliever Noah Davis was sitting at his locker scrolling on his phone as media day was underway from Polar Park on Thursday afternoon.