All spring, the Red Sox knew Marcelo Mayer was likely to be in their Opening Day lineup, but never offered him the comfort of a guaranteed job.
Why not?
“I wanted to push him,” Sox manager Alex Cora said on Saturday, after announcing Mayer as his starting second baseman five days before Opening Day. “Nothing is given here.”
The team sought specific on-field improvements, particularly when it came to Mayer tightening his strike zone and chasing fewer pitches. But perhaps more significantly, the team wanted the 23-year-old to approach his work and routines with purpose, structure, and urgency.
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