WORCESTER, Mass. – The Red Sox drafted a plethora of blue chip prospects over a four-year stretch, with Marcelo Mayer, Roman Anthony and Kyle Teel among others. But you may forget that Anthony wasn’t the first selection for Boston back in 2022. That would be Mikey Romero.
The rise of the “Big Three” kept the spotlight away from the former first-rounder, though his bat brought back some intrigue about his game in recent years.
Romero smacked the first home run of the season for Triple-A Worcester olast weekend against the Syracuse Mets. The infielder left the yard with an exit velocity over 100 MPH on an encouraging swing.
The WooSox saw Romero play 45 games in Triple-A last season with a .745 OPS. With a return to a now-familiar environment in spring training and now in Worcester, Romero has a base under him to take off.
“I think it was good,” Romero told OverTheMonster.com on Media Day. “Came up, obviously a young guy, didn’t really know what to expect. Obviously struggled at the start. Being in a new clubhouse, being around guys who had show time, kind of everything, playing against better competition. I think just getting up here, getting my feet wet, it made the transition coming into this year super easy, just because I’m pretty comfortable. I know what to expect. I know all these guys, I was in camp with them, which I wasn’t in last year. And I think just the success I had last year is gonna help me kind of go into this year. I know that I’m more than good enough to compete at this level, and I’m excited to get going.”
The Red Sox added veteran infielders in a remake around the diamond this offseason, including Isiah Kiner-Falefa. Romero leaned on him for his defensive development this spring.
“In spring training, I was next to Kiner-Falefa, and me and him talked a bunch about playing second base, just because I kind of came up as a shortstop, played third for the majority of last year, so I’m at second base,” Romero explained. “But at this camp, I played only second base. And it was new in the sense of learning how to turn double plays a little quicker, make sure I’m in the right spot at the right time. And he’s been a big help.”
Nick Sogard, who blasted two homers Tuesday night, shows Romero a constant reminder of the opportunities that versatility provides. The Red Sox kept him on the playoff roster in New York last October where his hustle helped Boston scratch across extra scoring chances.
“I talk to him plenty about third base, second base,” Romero explained. “Just kind of everything like I lean on him a lot. I like the way he plays the game and it’s good to just have guys around that I can bounce ideas off of.”
The same can be said for Romero and Mayer, who joined the Red Sox system a year apart. Mayer won the second base job for the big league club. Romero looks to him as another brain to pick in the same age bracket.
“I grew up with Marcelo,” Romero said. “Him and I are obviously great friends. So like I know that he’s always in my corner. I can always talk to him about defense, offense, whatever it may be. His story, you know, he’s been another guy that’s been really open to, you know, just always talking to me, answering my texts, you know, sitting and having breakfast at the field. He’s a really good guy to talk to. He’s been playing the game, obviously, for a while. He does a lot of baseball left and he’s done that at a high level.”
Years of offensive progressions and productive defensive conversations with teammates equipped Romero well entering 2026. Now, it’s up to him to translate all that information into his game. Particularly at the plate, he identified room to grow and attack early.
“The big focus was really just getting the chase down a little bit,” Romero shared. “… But in spring training, I did a really good job. Like I chased at a really low rate. I think it was around 20 to 25 percent, which is a big improvement from last year. I know I’m going to slug. I know I’m going to hit home runs. I know I’m going to hit doubles, get RBIs. I think the biggest thing is just having good at-bats, making sure I’m getting the right pitches to hit. Because when I’m getting pitchers in the zone, I usually do damage. So I think it’s just about maturing in that way for me is like being okay with maybe taking a couple of pitches that are strikes but aren’t in the heart of the zone and capitalizing on the mistake that the pitcher will make eventually.”
Romero entered 2026 as Boston’s No. 13 prospect, per MLB Pipeline. There’s no reason he can’t play his way into infield reps at some point when inevitable injuries arise and Boston needs reinforcements. It’s a crowded group of veterans and young players, but there’s a lane for Romero to play his way to Fenway Park with an offensive surge.
