Red Sox Setting Fans Up for More Marcelo Mayer Playing Time Gripes

Very early in the new year, Marcelo Mayer's role with the Boston Red Sox has become arguably the hottest topic surrounding the team.

Mayer won the starting second base job against right-handed pitchers in spring training, but manager Alex Cora was deliberate about making it clear he had to earn it. Mayer then came off the bench on opening day against lefty starter Andrew Abbott, eventually getting two big hits and scoring twice.

There will be those who don't love Mayer having to wait for his starts against left-handed pitchers, especially if it persists all season. But if he's on the bench against righties, there might be something of a fan base mutiny.

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Red Sox's lineups will be awkward with extra infielder

If fans haven't started mentally preparing for that very scenario, now seems like a good time to do so, as one insider hinted there could be a strong chance it happens next week.

On Saturday, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reported that righty-hitting infielder Andruw Monasterio's first start as a Red Sox was likely to come at second base against a righty starter during the team's second series. Ergo, there's a solid chance Mayer is coming off the bench in one of those games.

"Monasterio is scheduled to start a game, likely at second base, in Houston even though the (Houston) Astros have only right-handed starters," wrote McCaffrey.

Mayer sat in favor of Isiah Kiner-Falefa, who isn't close to a league-average hitter against lefties, on Thursday. If he's in something of a three-way timeshare with both Kiner-Falefa and Monasterio, there will be serious strife among Mayer fans.

Maybe the Red Sox are planning to sit third baseman Caleb Durbin or even shortstop Trevor Story on occasion to make sure Mayer is in there against all righties. We don't yet have all the answers, but we have to be on our guard in the perhaps likely scenario that Mayer indeed finds himself on the bench next week.

But the thought of Mayer sitting in favor of Monasterio against a righty, simply because Monasterio hadn't gotten into a game yet, is easy to project as a source of strife for the fans. right or wrong. It's the type of thing that gets people fired up early in the year, before they settle into the doldrums of 162 games.

The long and short of this is that it probably doesn't mean much in the long run. But if you're wondering what fans are most likely to be arguing about/wielding as ammunition against manager Alex Cora in the next week, here you go.