FORT MYERS, Fla. – Amidst ongoing evaluations of the Red Sox infield options, manager Alex Cora simultaneously hinted at the preferred position for Marcelo Mayer and issued him a strongly-worded challenge. “If he wants to be the starting second baseman in Cincinnati, there’s a lot of work to do,” Cora said Friday morning. “It’s not a given that he’s second baseman or third baseman for this team.” The Red Sox selected Mayer, now 23, with the fourth overall pick in the 2021 MLB draft, their highest selection in decades. He’s a natural shortstop, but his path to playing there in the majors was blocked first by Xander Bogaerts, who opted out of his contract after the 2022 season, and now by Trevor Story, who signed a six-year free-agent deal with Boston before the ‘22 season and played second until Bogaerts departed. Story opted into the remaining two years of his contract last fall. Mayer made his long-awaited debut late last May, as a roster replacement for injured third baseman Alex Bregman. With Bregman sidelined, Mayer played 39 games and 248 2/3 total innings at third, including 28 starts and 20 complete games. His covered second for eight games (57 innings) and subbed in at shortstop for three innings between two contests. It was an impressive adjustment for Mayer, whose minor league career included just six games and 48 1/3 innings of third-base experience. The issue was his bat, particularly against left-handed pitching. He hit .248 with a .739 OPS in 109…
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