NEW YORK – Getting booed by Yankees fans is a unique rite of passage for new Red Sox players.
It tells them they’re on the right track, making Boston’s eternal rivals unhappy.
On Friday night, it was Marcelo Mayer’s turn. The Yankees already had a 7-0 lead by the second inning and would go on to win 9-6, but that late six-run Red Sox rally bid was ignited by their long-awaited top prospect; in his first career game against the Yankees, got his team on the board with his first-ever big-league home run.
“I felt really good in my first at-bat, and then I got something good to hit in my second at-bat,” Mayer said as he stood in the visitors clubhouse postgame. A modest assessment of an at-bat which culminated in a 410-foot blast to right-center, which left his bat at 103.3 mph.
A player only gets one career home run No. 1, and while Mayer was able to get the ball back from the fan in exchange for a signed bat and another ball, the round-tripper itself was bittersweet.
“It was a good feeling,” he said, “obviously it kind of sucks when you know, you’re losing. But yeah, I mean it’s definitely a moment I’ll remember for the rest of my life.”
Though he grew up on the other side of the country, the San Diego native has been in the Red Sox organization since they selected him fourth overall in the ’21 draft. He’s well-versed in the storied rivalry with the Yankees, and was eager to join the fray; before the game, he told the Herald he’d been waiting for Friday night for a long time.
“I think every single athlete, or baseball player, dreams about being in this rivalry, so to be in it, you know, it’s a really good feeling,” he said postgame. “Obviously like I said, getting a W would’ve been better, but we bounce back tomorrow.”
So, if a Red Sox rookie isn’t going to hit his first career homer in front of the Fenway Faithful, doing it to Yankees fans in their own house is the next best thing, right?
“Yeah, 100-percent,” Mayer said with a smile. “If not here, then Petco (Park in San Diego), you know? That’s where I’m from.”
And as a Red Sox player, is there anything more affirming that your career is off to a good start than getting booed by the home crowd in your first-ever game at Yankee Stadium?
“It’s like music to your ears,” Mayer said. “Honestly I didn’t really here it just ’cause like, I’m so focused on the game, but yeah that’s pretty cool.”
Coming off three straight disappointing seasons, the Red Sox entered 2025 with renewed hope.
The club finally spent real money in the offseason, bringing in Garrett Crochet and Alex Bregman along with several other notable contributors, and heading into Opening Day the Red Sox were trendy picks to not only win the AL East, but potentially reach the World Series.
Now the whole thing is coming apart.
Between injuries and underperformance, the Red Sox have fallen far short of expectations. Entering the weekend the club is 28-31 and has gone 11-16 in the month of May. Now the team faces a make-or-break June where the club will not only play a stretch of 15 consecutive games from June 6-22 against teams that are currently at or above .500, but they’ll have to try to stay afloat without Bregman, the team’s best all-around player.
Perhaps the team will dig deep and find a way to stay alive — Friday was certainly an encouraging first step — but there is real danger the Red Sox could fall out of contention entirely these next few weeks.
If that happens, we could be looking at a pretty significant sell-off.
While this year’s Red Sox were built to win, they were also built with a lot of short-term pieces. If chief baseball officer Craig Breslow decided to sell he’d have no shortage of players to flip in hopes of solidifying the roster in 2026 and beyond.
What might that look like? Here’s what could happen if the Red Sox can’t turn it around.
Red Sox starter Walker Buehler could be a valuable trade chip at the deadline if the club decides to sell. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
Trade free agent starters
The first and most obvious place Breslow could start would be the starting rotation. As it stands Boston has two starting pitchers who are pending free agents in Walker Buehler and Lucas Giolito, and neither one is a sure bet to return this offseason even if they aren’t dealt.
How they pitch over the next two months will determine their ultimate trade value, but so far both have shown encouraging flashes and would likely be highly coveted on the trade market by contenders looking to raise their rotation’s ceiling. Buehler in particular could be a valuable chip given his playoff pedigree, and it’s reasonable to imagine he could fetch a pretty significant prospect return.
Plus, from the Red Sox’s perspective, the pair are borderline expendable at this point.
Even if you subtract Buehler and Giolito from the equation the Red Sox will still go into next offseason with seven starters under team control: Crochet, Brayan Bello, Tanner Houck, Richard Fitts and Hunter Dobbins plus Kutter Crawford and Patrick Sandoval, each of whom should be back on the mound by the second half. That’s a pretty solid starting point, especially if Houck can figure things out, and if the club were to add one more big arm in free agency or via trade then the Red Sox could conceivably start 2026 with one of the better rotations in baseball.
One other bonus? Buehler and Giolito are making approximately $40 million combined, so dealing them would get the club close to dipping back under the luxury tax threshold. Obviously the Red Sox shouldn’t be pinching pennies, but there’s no sense in dealing with the draft pick penalties and other baseball consequences that come with being over the luxury tax in a year where you’re likely to miss the playoffs.
Aroldis Chapman has largely exceeded expectations as Boston’s closer. (Stuart Cahill/Boston Herald)
Blow up bullpen
Similar to the starting rotation, Boston’s main bullpen acquisitions this offseason came on one-year deals and could be valuable trade chips for a club looking to shore things up in the late-game.
Outside of his blown save in Milwaukee on Tuesday, Aroldis Chapman has been everything the Red Sox could have hoped for. The 37-year-old is still among the hardest throwers in baseball and has been a reliable closer for a club that’s been short on bullpen stability. He’d be highly coveted.
Fellow left-hander Justin Wilson has also pitched well and could help a contender in need of another lefty, and while Liam Hendriks has struggled this season, he still has a strong track record. Perhaps there’s a team out there that believes he could still rediscover his old dominance?
Obviously without those guys the bullpen could look pretty ugly down the stretch, but at least the Red Sox could get a good look at their internal candidates and decide who has a future with the team and who doesn’t. Get Zack Kelly and Luis Guerrero up permanently, give Zach Penrod another look and see who else warrants a second-half tryout.
Top Red Sox prospect Roman Anthony has looked like a superstar in the making in Triple-A so far. (Courtesy of the Worcester Red Sox)
Call up Anthony, shake up lineup
While the pitching staff has plenty of low-hanging fruit to reach for, the position player situation is a lot stickier.
The Red Sox do not have any pending free agents among their everyday regulars, with the possible exception of Bregman, who could opt out of the remaining two years, $80 million on his deal this offseason if he chose. The Red Sox also have several high-priced veterans who remain under contract for at least two more seasons but who haven’t performed up to expectation and are blocking the paths of several of Boston’s most promising young prospects.
Somehow or another, something is going to have to be done.
The first order of business will be calling up Roman Anthony, which could conceivably happen any day now and arguably should have happened a long time ago. Anthony has dominated Triple-A despite being among the youngest players at that level and has clearly shown he’s ready for a big league opportunity. There’s no guarantee he’ll hit the ground running — Kristian Campbell and fellow former top prospect Jackson Holliday are good examples of how even the brightest young stars sometimes stumble early in their MLB careers — but if the Red Sox want to put themselves in the best position to succeed long-term, Anthony needs to come up.
That’s the easy part. The tough part is how the Red Sox can realistically accommodate him.
Given the roster’s current construction — and assuming moving Rafael Devers to either first or third base isn’t an option — there are two ways the Red Sox could get Anthony into the starting lineup. One is by moving Kristian Campbell to first base, Marcelo Mayer to second, Ceddanne Rafaela to third and putting Anthony in the open outfield spot. The other involves moving Trevor Story off shortstop, enabling Mayer to shift to his natural position, Campbell to keep developing at second and Rafaela to take over at third.
Story has largely looked lost at the plate for the past month and has also seen his normally stellar defensive metrics fall off. Perhaps he could still turn things around and get back to being the impact player the Red Sox hoped he’d be all along — again, Friday was an encouraging step — but if not the club may have no choice but to designate him for assignment.
The downside to doing that is the club would be on the hook for the remaining two years, $46.7 million of his deal plus whatever money he’s still owed for this year. The club may eventually also face a similar decision with Masataka Yoshida, who has spent the entire season on the IL recovering from offseason shoulder surgery but who would prompt another roster crunch in the outfield upon his return.
So what can the Red Sox realistically do to streamline their roster? There’s an example from the club’s past that might offer a way forward.
After his ill-fated free agent signing, Carl Crawford was included in the Red Sox’s blockbuster 2012 trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers. (File photo)
Reprise 2012 blockbuster
In 2012 the Red Sox were in a dark place, and beyond falling into the AL East basement the club also looked like it would be hamstrung for years by the seven-year, $142 million contract it gave in 2011 to Carl Crawford, who almost immediately became a shell of the player he was in Tampa Bay. With the team well out of contention the Red Sox found an escape hatch in the form of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who agreed to take on not only Crawford’s but also Josh Beckett’s remaining contract as part of a larger blockbuster built around first baseman Adrian Gonzalez.
There were other pieces involved as well, but essentially the Red Sox used a valuable commodity to unload their dead weight. In doing so they freed up resources that helped allow Boston to construct a World Series championship-winning roster the following year.
A similar deal in 2025 would probably involve packaging Story and Yoshida along with either Jarren Duran or Wilyer Abreu, possibly with additional prospects as well. Losing Duran or Abreu would hurt, but at some point the Red Sox are going to have to move one of their existing outfielders anyway, so this kind of deal would effectively get all of the messy business over with at once.
The end result post-trade would be a starting nine that looks something like this: Carlos Narvaez C, Triston Casas 1B (or TBD if still out injured), Kristian Campbell 2B, Marcelo Mayer SS, Alex Bregman 3B (assuming he doesn’t opt out), Roman Anthony OF, Ceddanne Rafaela OF, Wilyer Abreu or Jarren Duran OF (whoever remains), Rafael Devers DH.
That’s pretty much the group everyone has been waiting for, right? It might not be pretty at first as the young players endure their early-career growing pains, but throughout this five-year rebuild the light at the end of the tunnel was always the idea of seeing guys like Mayer and Anthony step up and become the faces of the club’s next great championship contender.
Now that vision is just about a reality, and if this year’s group can’t turn things around the Red Sox would do best to turn things over to the next generation and see what the kids are capable of.
Saturday was a whirlwind day for Marcelo Mayer, who found out he was being called up for his MLB debut just a few hours before the game was scheduled to begin. That made it impossible for his family to make the cross-country flight from southern California, but by Sunday his parents were in the stands and Mayer quickly made their trip a memorable one.
The highly touted Red Sox rookie picked up his first career hit, ripping an opposite field single his first time up in the bottom of the second. Mayer drew a huge ovation from the crowd and was able to get the ball back for posterity, but unfortunately for Boston the hit was one of the only offensive highlights of the day.
Marcelo Mayer gets his first Major League hit in front of his friends and family ♥️ pic.twitter.com/Pnd5045UeU
The Red Sox bats fell quiet again in what wound up being a 5-1 loss to the Baltimore Orioles in Sunday’s series finale. Jarren Duran went 4 for 5 and Mayer went 2 for 4 with a double, but the club couldn’t sustain any offense until the ninth inning, by which point the Red Sox had too much ground to make up.
The loss drops Boston (27-28) back below .500 on the season and caps off a 5-5 homestand.
The Orioles didn’t muster much in terms of offense early on themselves, but what little they cobbled together would have been more than enough. Baltimore took a 1-0 lead off Red Sox starter Walker Buehler in the top of the fourth on a Ramon Urias sacrifice fly and then tacked on a pair of solo home runs in the ensuing innings.
Dylan Carlson had the first off Buehler to lead off the fifth, a cheap one that curled around Pesky’s Pole into the right field stands, and Ryan O’Hearn added the second off reliever Greg Weissert in the sixth.
Buehler, making his second start since coming off the injured list and his first full effort after being ejected in the third inning last time out for arguing with the home plate umpire, allowed two runs over five innings on four hits, two walks and three strikeouts. He threw 85 pitches but only generated six whiffs on 41 swings.
Orioles starter Dean Kremer enjoyed one of his best outings of the season, holding the Red Sox scoreless over 5.1 innings while giving up seven hits and a walk with four strikeouts.
Boston had only two good scoring opportunities in the game and weren’t able to capitalize on either. In the bottom of the first Duran led off with a single and reached second after Carlos Narvaez (2 for 3) walked, but rookie Kristian Campbell grounded out to end the threat.
Things played out similarly in the third as well. Duran led off the inning with another single, and then Narvaez singled and stole second to put men at second and third with two outs. Campbell once again came to the plate but grounded out to shortstop for the third out.
Abraham Toro hit a ground rule double and advanced to third in the fourth, but the Red Sox couldn’t get him home either. Boston didn’t have another runner advance past first base until the bottom of the ninth.
In the meantime, things took an ugly turn in the eighth.
After Gunnar Henderson led off the inning with a walk off freshly called up reliever Zack Kelly, O’Hearn hit a double into the right field gap that should have put two men into scoring position with no outs. But on the throw back to the infield Ceddanne Rafaela’s throw got away and wound up hitting O’Hearn in the leg, bouncing into no man’s land and allowing Henderson to score.
Then, trying to gun down O’Hearn at third base, Mayer made what could be generously described as a rookie mistake and threw the ball away, allowing the Orioles designated hitter to score and completing the Little League home run.
O’Hearn finished 3 for 3 with a home run, double, walk and RBI. He finished a triple shy of the cycle.
Mayer atoned for the error by hammering a double into the right field gap to lead off the bottom of the ninth, and he came around to score his first career run on Abraham Toro’s subsequent RBI single. But that was as close as Boston got, with the Red Sox finishing 1 for 6 with runners in scoring position while stranding nine men on base.
The Red Sox will now open a six-game road trip with a three-game set against the Milwaukee Brewers. Garrett Crochet (4-3, 1.98) is slated to take the mound on Memorial Day Monday against Brewers right-hander Chad Patrick (2-4, 3.23). First pitch is scheduled for 2:10 p.m.
Several hours before first pitch on Sunday, several Red Sox players and coaches took the field to run through some pregame ground ball drills. Two of those were rookies Marcelo Mayer and Kristian Campbell, and the sight of the top prospects working together at Fenway Park was one fans have long dreamed of.
The only thing was, most people probably envisioned Campbell and Mayer working together at second base and shortstop, not first and third base.
Marcelo Mayer is taking ground balls at third and throwing to Kristian Campbell at first, exactly like we expected to see at Fenway Park all along. pic.twitter.com/vtPM3R3DJa
With the Red Sox ravaged by injury, two of the club’s “Big Three” have now reached the majors but will likely spend a good amount of time playing unfamiliar positions out of necessity.
Mayer is primarily a shortstop who has lately spent more time at second base in anticipation of his potential call-up, but following Alex Bregman’s injury the 22-year-old is expected to get most of his time at third base, where he’d only ever played six games professionally in the minors prior to his MLB debut on Saturday.
Campbell, meanwhile, remains Boston’s everyday second baseman but is being groomed for a potential move to first base to help fill the void left by the injuries to Triston Casas and Romy Gonzalez.
However the opportunities may come it’s still an exciting time for the Red Sox, who finally get to see some of their most acclaimed young players compete on the highest stage.
Though as Campbell’s last few weeks have shown, there will be growing pains along the way.
Mayer’s MLB debut on Saturday was a whirlwind, and while the day nearly had a storybook ending with Mayer coming up in a huge spot in the ninth inning, the rookie still finished 0 for 4 with three strikeouts in his first game. Cora said that for all Mayer’s poise he was still understandably nervous, but going forward he expects Mayer will settle in as things get back to normal.
“One thing I told him was enjoy it, it doesn’t matter the result. 0 for 4 with four strikeouts or 4 for 4 with four home runs, whatever, just enjoy it, you’re a big leaguer and no one is going to take that away from you,” Cora said. “Now I think his family flew in, they made it, so he’s playing. He’s going to have a blast anyway, he loves the game, we met today to go over a few things and he’s excited about the opportunity. But yesterday was fast. Very, very fast.”
Mayer was back in the lineup again Sunday batting sixth, right behind Campbell in the five spot. It might look a little different now, but if things go according to plan Red Sox fans can expect to see those two together in the middle of the order for a long time.
Starters announced
Cora announced the club’s starters for the upcoming series against the Milwaukee Brewers, saying Garrett Crochet will pitch the opener on Monday, Tuesday’s starter remains to be determined, and Brayan Bello will pitch the finale on Wednesday.
None of Boston’s five starters are expected to be available on regular rest Tuesday as a result of this past week’s postponements and Saturday’s doubleheader. The Red Sox will most likely instead need to call up a spot starter or attempt a bullpen game.
Extra innings
While Alex Bregman (right quad strain) is highly regarded for his impact in the clubhouse, Cora said the third baseman won’t travel with the team on road trips while he’s on the IL so that he can focus on his rehab. … Richard Fitts (right pectoral strain) is expected to make his next rehab start on Tuesday when the WooSox travel to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. … Infielder Romy Gonzalez (left quad contusion) will most likely need to go on a rehab assignment before he’s ready to return to the majors, Cora said.
Before Lucas Giolito blanked the Baltimore Orioles for seven innings in Game 2 of Saturday’s doubleheader, the only Red Sox starter to even reach five innings in any of the first eight games of this 10-game home stand was Garrett Crochet (twice).
It wasn’t exactly a walk in the ballpark for Giolito, but backed by a strong Red Sox defense, he completed seven scoreless innings, something only done once by the rotation once this season (Crochet, April 2). It was his deepest scoreless start since Sept. 15, 2023, and exactly what an exhausted Boston bullpen needed.
But to paraphrase Pedro Martinez in the 2004 ALCS, all Giolito could do was pitch. He could do nothing about the fact that the Red Sox once again couldn’t overcome a one-run deficit, and lost 2-1.
The Red Sox relievers got a well-deserved break but there was no such reprieve for the offense. The Boston bats collected just 5 hits in the contest, and went 0 for 5 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base.
The Fenway Faithful were on their feet for Marcelo Mayer’s first career at-bat, but the top prospect and his new teammates did next-to-nothing against Trevor Rogers, whose seven shutout innings were even stingier than Giolito’s. The Orioles southpaw needed just 87 pitches (56 strikes) to get through his start, in which he struck out five and didn’t issue a walk. Save for Kristian Campbell’s second-inning single, Rogers kept Boston off the bases entirely until the seventh, when he plunked Rob Refsnyder and gave up another single to Campbell. The two were left in scoring position when Mayer struck out to end the inning.
Mayer did, however, impress at third base, making several smooth throws to first in time for an out. When Jorge Mateo singled to right with two outs in the seventh, Refsnyder gunned to third, where Mayer made the inning-ending tag look effortless.
Game 1 of the doubleheader took 3:06 to complete, including a 26-minute rain delay before first pitch, and a 10th inning. By comparison, the AL East rivals blazed through Game 2. It took less than two hours to reach the top of the eighth, when Brennan Bernardino took the mound for his sixth appearance of the home stand, and recorded the first two outs with a walk in between.
Looking to keep the game scoreless, the Red Sox turned to rookie reliever Luis Guerrero, whom they’d recalled from Triple-A Worcester hours earlier. Guerrero, who debuted late last season, entered with a 0.00 ERA over 12 career appearances.
Instead, Guerrero immediately walked Adley Rutschman and gave up the go-ahead run on a single by Ryan O’Hearn before coming back from a 3-0 count to strike out Ramon Urias. The run ended Bernardino’s streak of 12 scoreless outings, and meant that Boston would have to come from behind for the third time in the series.
The Red Sox got aggressive in the bottom of the eighth. Cora sent David Hamilton out to pinch-run for Nick Sogard, who led off with a single. The speedy infielder promptly stole second, a call the Orioles challenged unsuccessfully, and was joined on the bases when Connor Wong drew a walk. They stood there watching Ceddanne Rafaela, Jarren Duran, and Rafael Devers go in order to waste another opportunity.
Despite the Red Sox turning their third double-play of the game, Guerrero’s ERA finally took on water in the top of the ninth. The run he allowed proved to be the difference-maker between the Red Sox potentially forcing extra innings for the second time on Saturday.
The Red Sox were three outs away from being shut out for the first time this season when Abraham Toro came to the plate to lead off the bottom of the ninth. His second home run of the day soared high and deep into the inky sky, and sent right-fielder Dylan Carlson and center-fielder Jorge Mateo racing toward the Boston bullpen. Mateo toppled in trying to complete the robbery.
Mayer’s force-out put him on base for the first time moments later, but it was for naught. The Red Sox are 6-13 in one-run games, and after getting their heads above .500 with a win in Game 1 of the doubleheader, are now treading water at 27-27.
The top Red Sox prospect will start at third base and bat sixth for the Red Sox when he makes his major league debut in the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader against the Baltimore Orioles.
Lucas Giolito (1-1, 7.08) will take the mound for the Red Sox against Orioles left-hander Trevor Rogers (season debut).
Mayer was selected No. 4 overall in the 2021 MLB Draft and has ranked as one of Boston’s most highly touted young players ever since. He currently ranks as the No. 8 prospect in MLB according to Baseball America and is Boston’s No. 2 prospect behind outfielder Roman Anthony, the consensus top prospect in the sport.
Mayer becomes the second of Boston’s “Big Three” prospects to reach the majors this season, joining fellow infielder Kristian Campbell, who made the club out of spring training and will be batting cleanup for the Red Sox on Saturday evening.
Red Sox lineup
Jarren Duran LF
Rafael Devers DH
Rob Refsnyder RF
Kristian Campbell 2B
Trevor Story SS
Marcelo Mayer 3B
Nick Sogard 1B
Connor Wong C
Ceddanne Rafaela CF
Lucas Giolito P
How to watch
When: 6:35 p.m.
Where: Fenway Park, Boston
Broadcast info: NESN, WEEI 93.7 FM, WCCM 1490 AM (Spanish), WESX 1230 AM (Spanish)
