The Boston Red Sox have put themselves in a sticky situation after an underwhelming opening half to the 2025 campaign. To compound their issues further, they have also had to deal with some key absentees who have upset the balance of the team.
As a result, the Red Sox have been forced to call up their prospects from the minor leagues to help address their problems. Those gambles are starting to pay off as the team has put on a strong run since the start of this month.
Red Sox Manager Discusses Leaving Marcelo Mayer Out of the Starting Lineup
Marcelo Mayer is among the three Red Sox prospects who have made their way into the major leagues this year. He has enjoyed a highly encouraging start to his MLB career since getting called up to the team following the injury to Alex Bregman.
However, the 22-year-old infielder was left out of the lineup for the 2-1 victory over the New York Yankees at Fenway Park on Friday. He did get a couple of at-bats in the game after coming in as a late pinch hitter but struck out on both occasions.
Alex Cora, the Red Sox manager, was asked to share his reasons for leaving the youngster out of the starting lineup. Mayer had hit two home runs the previous day to help his team to a 4-3 win and take the series against the Tampa Bay Rays.
“Well, Toro’s playing 3B and Romy’s playing 1B. So they’re doing a good job, too,” Cora replied. “Most likely, he’ll play 3B tomorrow. But this is where we’re at. We got 13 good position players, and we’ll use the roster to our advantage.”
Alex Cora was asked pregame how hard it is to sit Marcelo Mayer immediately after hitting 2 home runs in one game:
“Well, Toro’s playing 3B and Romy’s playing 1B. So they’re doing a good job, too. Most likely, he’ll play 3B tomorrow. But this is where we’re at. We got 13 good… pic.twitter.com/C72aiAjwJ9
— Tom Carroll (@yaboiTCfresh) June 13, 2025
Utility infielders Abraham Toro and Romy Gonzalez have also been filling in at the hot corner for the Red Sox, while Rafael Devers refused to return to his old defensive role after being asked to become a full-time DH at the start of the season.
At the same time, both Toro and Gonzalez are currently enjoying the most productive seasons of their careers with the bat as well. Therefore, Cora has the luxury of picking and choosing his matchups based on the opposing pitcher.
Gonzalez was claimed off waivers from the Chicago White Sox ahead of the 2024 season and had a solid first year in Boston. Despite having only one home run, he has posted a .321/.356/.469 slash line over 81 at-bats with 14 RBIs and an OPS+ of 129.
Meanwhile, Toro was signed on a minor league deal this year before he was activated to the roster after the season-ending injury to Triston Casas. He is batting .316/.340/.551 over 28 games with five home runs, 14 RBIs, and a 145 OPS+.