Marcelo Mayer making shortstop debut for Red Sox on Sunday (weather-permitting) vs. Twins

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May 24, 2026 - 16:34

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Marcelo Mayer making shortstop debut for Red Sox on Sunday (weather-permitting) vs. Twins

BOSTON — As expected, Marcelo Mayer is making the shift to shortstop for the Red Sox on Sunday afternoon.

After taking ground balls at the position all week in the wake of Trevor Story landing on the injured list with a sports hernia, Mayer will make his first big league start at shortstop as the Red Sox try to avoid a sweep at the hands of the Twins. Mayer has played all 45 of his games this season at second base (39 starts) after logging just three innings at shortstop as a rookie in 2025. On Sunday, he’s hitting eighth.

The Red Sox planned to move Mayer to shortstop only if Story needed to miss significant time with his injury. Story underwent surgery Thursday, so the Red Sox accelerated Mayer’s timeline to switch positions after having him spend a few days getting re-acclimated to shortstop in pregame drills.

Outside of two games at third base at Double-A Portland in 2023 and 2024, Mayer didn’t play anywhere but shortstop in his first four minor league seasons after being drafted in 2021. That changed in 2025 when he added second base and third base to his repertoire, then eventually debuted at third when Alex Bregman got hurt last May. His shortstop debut will come on the one-year anniversary of his major league debut, which was May 24 of last season.

The plan now, interim manager Chad Tracy said, is for Mayer to stick at short while Story gets healthy.

“There’s probably going to be certain days where I keep him out of the lineup,” Tracy said. “If there’s tough left-handers that I don’t feel like (are) a great matchup for him, I want to leave open the window where it’s not every single day. But I don’t see myself, once I get him there — and the matchup’s right and he’s playing — moving him back and forth on the diamond."

With Mayer at shortstop, Tracy will shift Nick Sogard to second base against Minnesota righty Bailey Ober. Masataka Yoshida is the designated hitter, batting fifth, with Ceddanne Rafaela hitting second. Carlos Narváez (catcher) and Caleb Durbin (third base) are both starting and hitting toward the bottom of the lineup.

Sonny Gray, who has a 1.06 ERA in three May starts since coming off the injured list, will pitch for Boston. He was roughed up by the Twins earlier this season on the road, as Minnesota tagged him for five runs on nine hits (including two homers) on April 14.

Weather has put the series finale in jeopardy with rain in the forecast throughout the day in the Fenway area. Because the Twins do not return to Boston this season, the call is in the hands of Major League Baseball, which is monitoring the situation. While reschedule dates for later in the summer have been discussed, according to sources, there is going to be an attempt to play.

Weather permitting, first pitch is at 1:35 p.m. ET.