Red Sox Nail Marcelo Mayer Opening Day Decision

The Boston Red Sox's infield is officially set.

Over the course of Spring Training, the most likely options for the club in the infield have seemed to be Willson Contreras at first base, Marcelo Mayer at second base, Trevor Story at shortstop and Caleb Durbin at third base. Boston played coy, though. When camp opened, Durbin got the majority of his playing time at third base and Mayer at second base. While this is the case, Boston didn't announce that Durbin will be the third baseman until this past week, although the writing was on the wall.

On Saturday, the Red Sox confirmed the other obvious decision: Mayer has made the Red Sox's 2026 Opening Day roster and will be the team's second baseman moving forward. Red Sox manager Alex Cora announced the decision on Saturday, as shared on X by multiple reporters, including MassLive.com's Chris Cotillo.

"Alex Cora says Marcelo Mayer is the second baseman. He told him he made the team this morning," Cotillo wrote.

The future is bright

Feb 27, 2026; North Port, Florida, USA; Boston Red Sox second baseman Marcelo Mayer (11) bats in the second inning against the Atlanta Braves during spring training at CoolToday Park. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images | Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images

Cora challenged Mayer throughout camp to win the Opening Day job and he did just that. He made that point clear back in February.

"With Marcelo, like I said yesterday or two days ago, we'll give him the baton, but he has to run," Cora said. "You know, if he wants to be the starting second baseman in Cincinnati, there's a lot of work to do. It's not a given that he's second baseman or third baseman for this team."

The slick-fielding 23-year-old appeared in 44 games at the big league level in 2025 and slashed .228/.272/.402 with a .674 OPS, four homers and 10 RBIs. With Mayer, the Red Sox are going to be rolling with a guy who is already elite defensively and has big-time upside offensively.

Second base has been a position that has been completely up in the air for the Red Sox since Dustin Pedroia retired. Last year, Kristian Campbell made the team out of camp with the hope that he could be the answer. He didn't make the club out of camp this year and was getting his playing time in the outfield.

There was a time when Mayer was the club's No. 1 prospect. He was selected by the club with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2021 Major League Baseball Draft. He was the No. 1 overall prospect for the team as recently as 2024. In 2025, he entered the season as seemingly the forgotten member of the "Big 3" along with Campbell and Roman Anthony, of course. Anthony was the No. 1 prospect and Campbell was No. 2. Now, Mayer has officially made an Opening Day big league roster at just 23 years old. The future is bright.