The recent talk about Dustin Pedroia on the Hall of Fame ballot has only further increased my desire for a capable, reliable Red Sox infield. We’ve seen it before, and we could get there again.
Alex Bregman’s departure not only opened up a hole which the front office thought it had solved in 2025, but it deepened the mystery of what we have in Marcelo Mayer. Mayer will continue to be an unknown quantity until he spends more time in the majors and proves he can stay on the field for a full season. Not only is he young and untested, but he can play second and third base as well as shortstop. What position he’ll more or less settle into in 2026 has been one of the more enigmatic questions of the offseason.
While Mayer’s “wherever they need me is where I’m gonna play” attitude will endear him to Red Sox Nation, there may be recent indications that Mayer may be favored to play third.
One piece of circumstantial evidence—and that’s sometimes all we’ve got in the offseason, until the process completely unfolds—is that Mayer has said: “Second base, you’re doing everything backwards.” To some, this may sound like a degree of discomfort, but it also conjures up the grace and confidence of a Ginger Rogers, doing everything Fred Astaire did—but backwards (and in heels). For someone working to transition from one side of the infield to the other, I have no doubt that’s what it might feel like.
A recent post on Bluesky from Alex Speier may do more to illuminate the front office’s thinking.
If this is to be believed (and I’ve been taken in a few times over the years), this might suggest that Eugenio Suárez will not end up on the dirt for the Sox. Our own Mike Carlucci said so in our Slack chat, and others have noted this on the socials too. (Even as Suárez is considered a good overall fit for the team.)
This defense-forward thinking should also have implications for second base. It could reasonably be said that being “very mindful of defense” should preclude an in-house platoon at second of Romy González, Nick Sogard, or David Hamilton. With the possible exception of Sogard, who is also young without a lot of time in the majors, we know those players, and they’re not the answer. Romy can be successful coming off the bench. Hamilton might be best as a pinch runner.
While the rumors are going this way and that, it sounds like second base is still open. So who’s it gonna be?
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