Boston Red Sox prospect Marcelo Mayer is currently ranked as No. 3 in the farm system by SoxProspects, and was ranked No. 4 in all of baseball by ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel on Wednesday.
The 2021 first-round pick will be participating in the team’s camp and Spring Training after missing the end of the 2024 season due to a back injury, and he’s thrilled to get to work.
“It’s definitely more exciting. I’m going into my first big-league Spring training, which is exciting,” Mayer said on the “Baseball Isn’t Boring” podcast. “As far as the work that I put in, in the offseason, nothing really changes. I’m still getting after it the same. I’m still doing everything that I need to do. I’m definitely really excited to be around those guys, be around the coaching staff and pick their brains. My goal is to break camp, obviously. That’s what I’m striving for. Obviously, a lot of that’s out of my control, but my goal is just to go out there, try to break camp and play as hard as I can every day.”
While Mayer has come up as a shortstop, the top need for Boston right now is at second base, and if he wants to make the roster out of camp and earn opportunities at the start of the year, he’ll have to get comfortable playing a new position.
However, it seems that the 22-year-old is up for the challenge.
“I’ve been taking reps all offseason at second, third and short,” Mayer said. “Really, I was the one who reached out to them and told them ‘Hey, I’m available to play anywhere in the infield. If you guys want me to play in the outfield, I’ll do that too.’ Like I said, I just want to be a big leaguer. So, for me, it’s just wherever I get the opportunity play thats’ where I’m willing to play.”
In 77 games with Double-A Portland in 2024, Mayer hit .307 with an .850 OPS, eight home runs, 38 RBIs and 13 stolen bases.
When he’s healthy, Mayer looks like he could be a huge part of Boston’s future, but if the injuries keep up, he may never realize that potential.
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