FORT MYERS, Fla. — Marcelo Mayer is so happy — and healthy — to be here.
“It’s been a pretty long offseason since I got my last month and a half cut short last season,” he told the Herald earlier this week. “It’s good to be back, being on the field. Being healthy, too, feels great.”
The organization’s No. 1 prospect, ranked No. 14 in the minors by Baseball America and No. 15 by MLB Pipeline, was limited to 78 games between High-A and Double-A last season, and 91 the year before. So, while his main goal is to make his major league debut this year, the ultimate objective is to stay healthy so that he can keep developing.
“These last two years, I’ve gone through some injuries, my shoulder and my wrist,” he said. “A big one for me is just making sure I’m healthy on the field, which starts off the field. Last season was kind of a freak accident. I fell, I can’t really control that. Just doing whatever I can to stay on the field.”
Mayer, 21, grew up idolizing players from a wide range of teams, including a few New York Yankees. When he makes his major league debut, he’ll be able to play against some of them.
“Where do I start? I love (Derek) Jeter, growing up, just because of the way he was,” he raved. “I love Robinson Cano’s swing, and then, this wasn’t really my era but I love Chipper Jones as well. Obviously, (Francisco) Lindor, I love Lindor. I like shortstops, left-handed hitting shortstops. Right now, I love watching Corey Seager play.”
He’s also a fan of the previous homegrown Red Sox shortstop.
“He’s a great player. He’s a great guy,” Mayer said of Xander Bogaerts. “When I got drafted, he was kind of the first guy I met. He was really cool to me.”
Mayer may be one of the most promising prospects to come out of the Red Sox system in years, but he’s a total team player. He lights up when he talks about his talented teammates and other Sox minor leaguers. He also loves watching college baseball, so he was excited to hear that the Red Sox had acquired Kansas City Royals prospect David Sandlin, who pitched for Oklahoma in the 2022 NCAA tournament.
“No way! No way! That’s crazy,” the shortstop said. “Looking forward to meeting him.”
He’s already forged a strong bond with two fellow top prospects, outfielder Roman Anthony and catcher Kyle Teel. Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow has pointed to the trio as the harbingers of the next era of winning in Boston.
“I love ’em,” Mayer said of Anthony and Teel. “They’re some of my best friends. We’ve built some great relationships. I’m actually living with Roman this spring training, with a few other guys. It’s really fun. We have a really good clubhouse. And not only those guys. There’s a lot of great players in the minors that we have that I think can help the team win.”
“I don’t know if I could single one guy out,” he said. “There’s just so many guys. The list goes on. So many guys that are really good ballplayers and can help the team win.”
“CT, Christopher Troy, he’s a dog,” he said. “I love the way he plays.
“Obviously Blaze Jordan, he’s a great player, great teammate, great guy, great baseball name. That just sounds like a big leaguer (name). There’s also Alex Binelas, Niko Kavadas. We have a few good arms. Actually, we have a lot of good arms.
