Marcelo Mayer's Explosive Debut Gets 3-Word Response From Roman Anthony

The Boston Red Sox infielder looked great in his Spring Training debut.

May 28, 2025; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Boston Red Sox third baseman Marcelo Mayer (39) at bat during a game against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-Imagn Images | Patrick Gorski-Imagn Images

The Boston Red Sox's infield battle took a bit of a turn on Friday.

Marcelo Mayer was able to make his Spring Training debut and didn't waste any time making an emphatic statement. Mayer stepped up to the plate in the fourth inning against Atlanta Braves reliever Raisel Iglesias and smashed a long homer to right field.

Incoming dinger from Marcelo Mayer pic.twitter.com/14UXs2eWik

— Dillard Barnhart (@BarnHasSpoken2) February 27, 2026

It's not as if Mayer stepped up and hit a homer off a Double-A hurler looking to make the jump to the big leagues. Iglesias is an 11-year big league veteran with a career 2.90 ERA. This guy is the real deal and in Mayer's first game of the spring he took him deep. You couldn't ask for a much better performance for a guy trying to officially earn a starting job with the club for the 2026 season. He certainly impressed his pal, outfielder Roman Anthony.

"He's a stud," Anthony said afterward, as transcribed by MLB.com's Ian Browne.

Mayer opened up about the ongoing position battle and earning a job out of camp before his spring debut, as transcribed by The Athletic's Jen McCaffrey.

"Obviously this year, I’m coming in with Show experience,” Mayer said, as transcribed by McCaffrey. “So it’s a little different, but I’m seeing it the same way. I feel like I still got to earn a job. I’m not Trevor Story. I don’t have a position stamp that I’m going to be playing Opening Day. For me, I feel like I still need to win a job, and I feel like (the team has) made that clear. ...

"The second I got home, I got to work because I knew there was no time to waste,” he said. “I wanted to come in, in really good shape. And I think I did a really good job.”

He certainly showed in his spring debut what he can do. Overall, Mayer went 1-for-3 with a homer and a strikeout in his first appearance while starting at second base. There's just one month to go until Opening Day, but Mayer took a step in the right direction.