What Alex Cora said of Red Sox clearing path for Marcelo Mayer

While Alex Cora signaled that the Red Sox are not setting down any definitive timeline for when Campbell might get game reps at first, getting the second baseman comfortable at a new infield spot could create a positive domino effect for a Red Sox team in need of a spark.

By successfully slotting Campbell over to first base, the Red Sox would open up a slot in the middle of the infield — which could carve out a path for the team to promote one of its blue-chip prospects in Marcelo Mayer. 

As Campbell continues to hone his craft at first, Mayer — a natural shortstop — has played at second base in two of his last three games for Triple-A Worcester. 

While it’s easy to draw parallels between Mayer’s switch to second and Campbell’s pregame reps at first, Alex Cora stressed on Sunday that the Red Sox’ primarily goal with Campbell’s position switch doesn’t directly tie into a promotion for Mayer. 

“It’s not easy,” Cora said prior to Boston’s eventual 10-4 loss to Atlanta, per MassLive’s Chris Cotillo. “We’re taking a chance here. All this talk about, ‘This guy can play first,’ and this and that, I can give you five examples why it didn’t work the last five years. It’s not just, ‘Plug a guy over there, here we go, let’s see what happens.’

“We’ll get there when we get there. This is not a commitment. This is introducing the position to the kid. We believe that athletic-wise, he can do it but there’s more than just standing there and catching the throws.”

Even with Campbell’s willingness to step into the vacancy created by Triston Casas’ season-ending knee injury, the rookie is sailing into uncharted waters with his move to first. 

“Me and A.C. talked about it,“ Campbell said of his position switch on Friday. ”Got to learn the position, obviously. It’s gonna take some time. But it’s something I’m willing to do to help the team. I’ve never played over there before. Not sure exactly what the plans are. It’s something I definitely have to get used to.”

Campbell’s versatility has already been put on display this season, as he has already started games at second base, left field, and center field. But, he’s yet to play at first so far in his Red Sox career. 

“We’ve been through this dance before,” Cora said. “We did it with Kyle [Schwarber]. He got hurt right away in Detroit, on his first day of taking ground balls. [Christian] Arroyo, playing in New York, first play, he stretched and got hurt. Franchy [Cordero], we moved him to first, it wasn’t great.

“We’ve just got to be patient with the process. Whenever we decide he can handle the position, we’ll put him there. If we don’t believe he can handle it, we’ll stay the course.”

Campbell making a successful transition to first base (at least for this season) would open up plenty of doors for Boston — especially when it comes to calling up one of their top prospects in Mayer.

While Boston’s most pressing issue right now might revolve around its struggling pitching corps, the 22-year-old Mayer has put together strong returns down in Triple-A this season — batting .264 with eight home runs and 40 RBI in 40 games this year. 

 

Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.