ATLANTA — Customarily, the Red Sox hold a brief, informal ceremony to welcome each new call-up to the major leagues after his big league debut. Marcelo Mayer, however, had to wait for his.
Breaking tradition — and knowing Mayer is, unlike some other temporary call-ups — here to stay, Red Sox manager Alex Cora decided not to hold a clubhouse celebration for Mayer on Saturday night at Fenway after the Red Sox lost to the Orioles, 2-1, in his debut. Cora decided they’d wait for a win to commemorate Mayer’s debut. That wait took a while, as Boston lost the first five games of Mayer’s career. But it finally happened Friday at Truist Park after a 5-1 victory.
“Finally, we were able to celebrate him,” Cora said. “He was 0-and-5. We usually celebrate right away but he’s a big leaguer, he’s a big leaguer of what we’re trying to accomplish and we’re very happy that finally, he was able to celebrate today.”
Typically, the Red Sox celebrate MLB debuts with brief postgame speeches and a beer shower. Mayer’s came after a team victory in which he was 0-for-4 but made a stellar leaping catch that caught the eye of everyone at the ballpark — including those in another type of uniform.
“Great play,” said Cora. “There was one earlier, too. Defense is not the problem. This kid, he gets it. He doesn’t panic.”
Mayer’s long-anticipated first week in the majors has been a whirlwind. The 22-year-old was called up in the middle of a doubleheader Saturday and had to be driven from Worcester to Boston just to make it in time for first pitch of the nightcap at Fenway. Then came a road trip to Milwaukee, then Atlanta, in which he had many family members and friends tag along. Offensively, he got his hits, and defensively, performed well at third base, an unfamiliar position. All that was missing was a victory.
“They’re two complete different things,” Mayer said before Friday’s game. “Obviously, I’m having a blast being in the big leagues but we’re up here and we need to win games. Obviously, we’ve had a few bad days.”
Mayer is hitless in his last two games but has not looked overmatched at the plate so far, going 5-for-23 (.217) with two doubles while being thrust into the middle of Boston’s order. The Red Sox, though, have little worry on the defensive side of things despite Mayer’s unfamiliarity with the third base position. He has now logged more innings at the hot corner (49 ⅓) in the majors than in his entire minor league career (48 ⅓). But the transition has been rather seamless for an athletic natural shortstop who is replacing Alex Bregman on the fly.
“Good range, good internal clock, he doesn’t panic, the arm plays,” said Cora. “He has been really good.
“His decisions, his footwork, his hands, his baseball IQ, this guy is a really good defender. (lots of pregame reps)
Mayer credited a lot of pregame work for allowing him to shine at third, where he has already been worth 1 DRS (defensive runs saved) for the Red Sox. Cora said he will get reps at shortstop to spell Trevor Story on occasion but downplayed the idea of Mayer mixing in at second base, a spot he might have played frequently with Bregman healthy and Kristian Campbell getting reps at first.
The game has not looked too fast for Mayer to this point.
“I think the biggest thing is just controlling your emotions,” he said. “If you let it spiral, it can get fast. If you control yourself and know who you are, it’s the same game.”
Mayer’s arrival comes at the same time that fans and critics are clamoring for Boston to promote one of his best friends, Roman Anthony, in an effort to ignite the offense. Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow has identified some remaining development objectives for Anthony in Worcester, but Mayer, putting on his chief baseball officer hat, would like to see the 21-year-old outfielder in the big league clubhouse very soon.
“I think he’s ready,” Mayer said. “Obviously, playing with him every single day for the last two years, I get to see the type of player he is and the type of person he is. I think his transition is going to be pretty smooth to the big leagues whenever that may be. I know he’s gonna be ready.”
Anthony’s time will come, and soon, too. For now, though, the Red Sox are celebrating Mayer, who fittingly caught the final out of the first win of his career Friday night.
“We let him know nobody can take this away from him,“ Cora said. ”He’s a big leaguer. Regardless of what happens. Obviously, we’re not gonna send him down tomorrow but if he got sent down tomorrow and he doesn’t play in the big leagues the rest of his career, he’s a big leaguer. We appreciate that and we take that very seriously.”
