Isiah

Kiner-Falefa

With the Red Sox facing a left-handed pitcher, Mayer will head to the bench with Isiah Kiner-Falefa at second base. Trevor Story will also be at DH, so Andruw Monasterio will start at shortstop against his former team, the Brewers. Mayer is 1-for-2 with a home run off of left-handed pitchers this season, so it might be worth the Red Sox actually letting him see if he can handle lefties at the big league level.

It’s unclear exactly what happened on IKF’s chopper down the third base line in the seventh. If he felt the ball go off his foot, he made no attempt to argue the point. Had he ran right away, it might have been a tough play for Luis Rengifo. Kiner-Falefa is now 0-for-7 this season. It made some sense for the Red Sox to sign him as infield insurance, but the problem there is that there’s just no reason at all for the club to play him while everyone is healthy. Even if it makes sense to sit Marcelo Mayer against lefties, Andruw Monasterio is much better equipped than IKF to help as a platoon guy.

Durbin will get a Tuesday off for the second straight week despite a two-hit game Monday against his former team. He’ll take a breather with Isiah Kiner-Falefa getting the start at third base and hitting ninth.

Mayer came off the bench to go 2-for-2 with a double and a pair of runs scored during Thursday’s season-opening win over Cincinnati. The 23-year-old top prospect sat in favor of veteran Isiah Kiner-Falefa to open the contest, which might be a regular occurrence against left-handed starters this season. He’s talented enough to make an impact in deeper mixed leagues as a middle and corner infield option.

The Red Sox have said they would get Mayer more at-bats against lefties this season, but that won’t be the case on Opening Day against Andrew Abbott. Isiah Kiner-Falefa will start in Mayer’s place, and fantasy managers will have to hope that this is not a locked-in situation for Mayer all season long.

Eaton had a solid spring, going 9-for-32 with four RBI and two steals. However, he only played the outfield in the spring, so it seems like both Andruw Monasterio and Isiah Kiner-Falefa have surpassed him as true utility players.

Cora made it official that Mayer will open the regular season as Boston’s starting option at the keystone. The 23-year-old top prospect is likely to cede some playing time to Andruw Monsterio and Isiah Kiner-Falefa against left-handed starters, but will get the bulk of the playing time at the keystone. Cora went out of his way to tell reporters on several occasions that Mayer would have to earn the starting job this spring, so this certainly qualifies as a vote of confidence in the former fourth-overall selection from the 2021 MLB Draft. His immediate fantasy appeal is limited to deeper mixed leagues and AL-only formats. If he can stay healthy, he’s one of the more intriguing young talents in the game capable of hitting double-digit homers with a respectable batting average and a handful of stolen bases.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora has told reporters on several occasions this spring that Mayer will have to earn the starting role at second base in camp, which means any sort of extended absence would diminish his chances with just under two weeks left until Opening Day. The 23-year-old top prospect figures to continue sitting against left-handed starters with Andruw Monasterio and Isiah Kiner-Falefa getting some opportunities in a short-side platoon role. It doesn’t sound like he’s going to miss too much time here with Cora adding that Mayer should be back in the lineup on Tuesday.

Once again, Roman Anthony is in the leadoff spot, he’s just serving as the designated hitter while Jarren Duran patrols the outfield. The only difference between Sunday’s lineup and what the team had been expected to use on Opening Day is Isiah Kiner-Falefa is in there at second base while Marcelo Mayer is riding the pine. He really will need to earn his spot this spring. Here’s the full lineup for Sunday: Roman Anthony (DH), Trevor Story (SS), Jarren Duran (LF), Willson Contreras (1B), Wilyer Abreu (RF), Caleb Durbin (3B), Ceddanne Rafaela (CF), Carlos Narvaez (C), Isiah Kiner-Falefa (2B).

Anthony will get a few exhibition games under his belt with the Red Sox before joining Team USA for next month’s World Baseball Classic. The 21-year-old on-base machine’s perch atop Boston’s formidable lineup, which features offseason acquisition Willson Contreras in the heart of the order, makes it easy to project him as an impact fantasy contributor in the runs scored department. His ability to generate consistent hard contact, as evidenced by a 94.5 mph average exit velocity — the highest single-season mark by a hitter under the age of 22 in the Statcast era — portend immediate success at the highest level as a power-hitting table-setter. He’ll be an early-round pick in all fantasy drafts this spring. Here’s the full lineup: Anthony (RF), Ceddanne Rafaela (CF), Wilyer Abreu (DH), Contreras (1B), Masataka Yoshida (LF), Connor Wong (C), Andruw Monasterio (3B), Isiah Kiner-Falefa (SS) and Brendan Rodgers (2B).