Red Sox's Young Infielder Opens Up About Offensive Struggles

With several key cogs at the front of the lineup failing to deliver, more and more pressure has fallen on the young and inexperienced bats behind them. This includes Marcelo Mayer, who is now facing a potential position change with Story's prolonged absence.

The Red Sox took Mayer fourth overall in the 2021 MLB Draft. The young infielder battled injuries in each of his first three minor league seasons but impressed enough during his time on the field to move rapidly through the organization, reaching Triple-A and the majors by age 22.

Heading into the 2025 season Mayer ranked 12th on MLB Pipeline's Top 100 prospects list, just behind Roman Anthony (2) and Kristian Campbell (7). Since arriving at the big leagues, the 23-year-old has had mixed results.

On one hand, his terrific glove has translated with ease through his first two seasons. Mayer has been a plus defender at both second and third base and is now seemingly making the transition back to his natural position of shortstop with Story out.

However, his bat has yet to come around. The lefty-swinging Mayer has shown flashes at the plate, launching timely home runs and showing an ability to utilize the opposite field and drive the ball off the green at Fenway. But now 91 games into his big-league career, the numbers are still not there.

Mayer holds a career slash line of .221/.275/.348 across 292 plate appearances. Typically, a young player with his defense-first profile would not have to provide reliable offense this early into his career, but Boston's severe lack of offense has put some added pressure on the former first round pick. Besides, patience only last so long with highly coveted prospects.

Mayer spoke candidly with Alex Speier of the Boston Globe following the club's 6-5 loss to cap off a home series sweep at the hands of the Minnesota Twins, owning his part in the team's disappointing start to the year.

“Obviously, it hasn’t gone the way that I wanted offensively so far, but it’s early," Mayer said. "We all want to be really good right [away]."

Mayer's troubling platoon splits from his rookie season (.154 vs LHP, .248 vs RHP) hurt his chances to get every day at-bats this year, which is something that he feels has contributed to his slow acclimation period at the major league level.

"Looking back in my [minor league] career, I’ve always struggled going up to new levels… I feel like I still don’t have that many at-bats. I’m approaching a year, but at the same time, I don’t have a year’s worth of at-bats. The biggest thing is just learning with every single at-bat.”

Now down a key infielder, Mayer is likely to see additional playing time this summer, especially if he can stick as the team's everyday shortstop. He looked comfortable in his first MLB start there on Sunday while providing a key RBI base hit.

Regular at-bats for the rest of the season will be crucial to measure Mayer's growth, but staying healthy remains a factor, as he has yet to play more than 91 games in a full season.

The unfortunate reality is that Mayer's lack of offensive production should not sink a lineup. But as they are currently constructed, the Red Sox need more from him. As they look to dig out of this hole, Mayer's performance throughout the summer will be important to monitor not just for the immediate future, but for the long-term future of the club.