Everyone in Boston is eagerly awaiting the promotion of top prospects Roman Anthony and Marcelo Mayer to the big leagues. While that could happen at any time, it appears the Red Sox already have a path laid out for Mayer’s arrival.
Kristian Campbell surprised many on Friday when he began learning how to play first base under infield coach José Flores. The young infielder continued working on the fundamentals of the position on Saturday, and while manager Alex Cora clarified that he’s currently just in a learning phase, it appears the franchise is moving in that direction.
“He played second base yesterday,” said manager Alex Cora about Marcelo Mayer, who in fact logged his sixth career game at second base in Worcester — all of them this year. The prospect returned to shortstop on Saturday. “We’re moving him around. That’s the plan. Yes.”
Cora doesn’t seem ready to make it official that Campbell will play first base. He plans to wait and see how the progress unfolds.
“He let us know, and we’ll see if he feels comfortable,” Cora added on Saturday. “We want him to learn the position. It’s not like he’s going to start playing first base right away. We’ll see how comfortable we are, and then we’ll make decisions.”
The good news is that if it works, it could open up a spot for Marcelo Mayer — and then the Red Sox would only need to figure out how to bring up Roman Anthony.
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Manager Alex Cora told the media that Romy González is almost ready to return. He is eligible to be activated on Sunday, but that’s unlikely. “The leg still bothers him,” Cora said. “He feels like, swing-wise, he’s in a good spot — but there’s still a little discomfort. We’ll see if it’s tomorrow, but if not, it’ll be soon.”
