Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora confirmed to reporters on Saturday that Marcelo Mayer would serve as the team’s everyday 2nd baseman in 2026. In a corresponding move, the team has optioned Kristian Campbell back to the minors ahead of Opening Day.
“Yeah, Marcelo is going to be our second baseman,” Cora said prior to Saturday’s game vs. Atlanta. “I talked to him today. He did an amazing job in the offseason. Like I told him, he’s always been a good player, but he actually did an amazing job putting himself in the conversation to play in October last year after the surgery.”
“He showed me that he’s been disciplined, especially down in the zone,” Cora continued. “Obviously, everything changes when the season starts. But so far, so good. He’s been really good at not chasing pitches down. He hits the ball hard. Little by little, he gained confidence and I was like, ‘OK, this is going to be OK.’”
The offseason acquisition of Caleb Durbin created a minor log jam in the Red Sox infield in terms of where the club would deploy their multitude of options. For now, it would appear as though the club will use a lineup of Durbin at 3rd base, Trevor Story at shortstop, Mayer at 2nd, and Willson Contreras at 1st.
“It means a lot,” Mayer said. “Obviously, that was the goal coming into camp. He made it well known that the spot wasn’t given to me, so I worked hard, and I’m really happy with the outcome. I’m excited about the team.”
It’s a disappointing development for Campbell, who was the talk of spring training in 2025 as he broke camp with the big league club. The 23 year old got off to a sizzling start, earning Rookie of the Month honours for the American League in April.
In fact, he turned so many heads that the club’s front office opted to give him an 8 year, $60M contract extension despite his relatively small sample size. Unfortunately his bat cooled off significantly from there, ultimately leading to a midseason demotion back to the minors.
He didn’t do much to help his case this spring, hitting just .220 with 1 HR and 4 RBIs across 46 plate appearances. There’s an argument to be made that he could’ve stuck around with the big league club as a utility player, but Craig Breslow & Co. clearly believe that everyday at bats in the minors was a better development path for the talented infielder.
“And obviously, in camp, he didn’t walk as often. He struck out a lot, right? So that’s not him,” Cora said about Campbell. “We just have to keep working together. But at the end, he said it, ‘It’s up to me. It’s up to me to get back here.’ And we will help him.”
Mayer is ultimately viewed as the team’s longterm answer at shortstop, but has previously stated that he has no issue moving over to 2nd base to keep Story at his natural position. The veteran infielder signed a 6 year, $140M contract with Boston prior to the 2022 MLB season. This winter, he had a player option to opt out of his remaining contract and become a free agent.
Instead, he chose to keep the $25M salaries he’ll be owed in 2026 and 2027, with a team option for 2028. Should Boston not pick up that option, which seems likely given the fact that he will be turning 36 years old at that point, Story would be owed $5M as a buyout. Effectively, by opting in, the 2x All-Star is guaranteeing himself $55M over the next 3 years.
In a perfect world, Boston would hope that Mayer is ready to slide over to shortstop full-time in 2027, with Campbell forcing his way into the lineup at 2nd base. This would allow them to move Story to a DH role, where the wear and tear on his body would be reduced. But in a worst case scenario, could look to run the current alignment back for another season.
Boston will look to wrap up their spring training schedule over the next few days as they’ll take on the Pirates, and Twins (2x) before preparing for their season opener at Cincinnati on Thursday, March 26th.
Photo: Maryland GovPics. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.