BOSTON — Red Sox’ No. 2 prospect Marcelo Mayer couldn’t find his car keys to drive here to Fenway Park for his MLB debut.
“I lost them like three weeks ago and I never cared to look for them until I needed to,” Mayer said. “So thankfully somebody drove me.”
Mayer is batting sixth and playing third base for Boston here Saturday evening against the Orioles.
The 22-year-old got word he was being called up during the first game of Boston’s doubleheader. He arrived in the Red Sox clubhouse right after Boston’s 6-5 walkoff win in Game 1.
Mayer received a ride from a WooSox clubbie in a little blue Kia Forte.
“I was just really answering all the texts I got,” Mayer said about the trip here in the passenger’s seat. “So I used it as a time to kind of chill and answer all my family and my friends.”
His car has been parked in the Polar Park parking lot for weeks. Worcester returned home this past Monday after a two-week road trip.
He said he hasn’t driven his car “for a long time.”
The Red Sox selected the left-handed hitter fourth overall in 2021. He was Boston’s highest draft selection since 1967 when it picked Mike Garman third overall. Mayer was batting .271 with a .347 on-base percentage, .471 slugging percentage, .818 OPS, nine homers, five doubles, one triple, 43 RBIs, 31 runs, 20 walks and 38 strikeouts in 43 games (193 plate appearances) for Worcester this season. Baseball America ranks him the game’s No. 8 overall prospect.
Mayer has the ability to play shortstop, second base and third. The Red Sox, as of now, plan to take advantage of his versatility.
“My job here is to do whatever I can to help the team win,” he said. “I’m going to go out every single day and give it 100%, give it my all and then hopefully that’s enough.”
The Red Sox were holding Mayer out of the WooSox lineup Saturday as they waited to see the extent of Alex Bregman’s injury. Boston ended up placing Bregman on the 10-day injured list after an MRI revealed a significant right quad strain. They called up Mayer to take his spot.
As MassLive WooSox beat writer Katie Morrison wrote, Mayer was called into manager Chad Tracy’s office before Worcester’s own doubleheader.
“He told me I was going to play game two, just not here,” Mayer said, “and the rush I felt is something I wish everyone could experience.”
