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Red Sox Make Surprising Marcelo Mayer Announcement Before Yankees Game

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Zach Kaplan | Last updated Jun 7, 2025 7:24 PM ET

The New York Yankees took the first game of a three-game set on Friday against the Boston Red Sox in what was the first of 13 games against their fierce rivals.

In the Bronx, rookie Will Warren delivered a solid performance, though two of his four runs in 5 1/3 innings came off of Brent Headrick after Warren's exit.

Trailing 7-0, the Red Sox opened the scoring off of Warren in the fifth inning in emphatic fashion, with former No. 2 prospect Marcelo Mayer connecting on his first career home run off of Warren.

After Mayer's home run, the Red Sox made a surprising announcement, leaving Mayer out of Saturday's lineup.

Mayer's home run was his first in 34 professional at-bats, and he's slashing .167/.167/.167/.333 against lefties, so manager Alex Cora clearly didn't like the optics of the youngster facing lefty Ryan Yarbrough, who has been surprisingly sharp for the Yankees.

Mayer did get his home run ball back, as a group of young fans traded his prized artifact for a few autographs and photos after the game.

The blast cut the Red Sox' deficit to 7-1, and despite a fierce comeback, the Sox fell to their rivals 9-6, with Devin Williams getting a much-needed stress-free save in the win.

The Sox are continuing to face a decision on top prospect Roman Anthony, and chief executive Craig Breslow is in Worcester to watch Anthony play for the WooSox tonight.

Mayer hasn't necessarily started his MLB career in strong fashion, but much time is left for him to turn it around.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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