Marcelo

Mayer

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.

He also reached on a catcher’s interference, not that it does his statistics any good. Fernando Tatis Jr. almost made a fantastic play on Mayer’s homer to right, but he came up just a little short at the bullpen wall in Fenway. Not only was it a huge hit for the slumping Red Sox, but that it came off a quality lefty reliever in Wandy Peralta might be good for Mayer’s playing time as he seeks to break out of a platoon role. Mayer is 5-for-17 with four extra-base hits in the early going.

Narváez was scratched from the lineup for unknown reasons on Wednesday, so it’s nice to see him back in there. We should expect regular usage for Narváez going forward. Lefties Marcelo Mayer and Roman Anthony are also back in the lineup on Friday.

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.

Mayer sat in favor of Isiah Kiner-Falefa against lefty Andrew Abbott, but he made a big impact with his pinch-hit double in the seventh. He then came around to score the first run of the game on a Ceddanne Rafaela single. He went on to single and score in the ninth to give the Red Sox some cushion. The Red Sox aren’t due to face another lefty for at least a week, so Mayer should be in the lineup for the next several games in a row.

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.

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.

No real surprise here. Durbin came over from the Brewers as part of the Kyle Harrison trade last month and will fill the spot previously held by Alex Bregman and Rafael Devers. The 26-year-old speedster has enough stolen base upside to matter in deeper mixed leagues. The big question for the Red Sox is whether Marcelo Mayer will open the year as their starting second baseman.

Mayer, still the favorite to start for Boston at second base, is 6-for-22 with a homer this spring.

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.