Even after waiting and working toward this moment for most of his life, Marcelo Mayer never thought the call would play out the way it did.

First, Triple-A manager Chad Tracy told him he wasn’t going to play the first game of the WooSox’s doubleheader. The Red Sox might need him, because Alex Bregman, who’d taken Mayer and the other top prospects under his wing during spring training, had a quad strain.

Then, while the big-league club was playing Game 1 of their own doubleheader 45 minutes down the Mass Pike (without traffic, of course), Tracy called Mayer back into his office and told him, “It would be hard to start Game 2 here if you’re going to be active in Fenway tonight.”

“I just felt like, the craziest rush through my whole body,” Mayer said as he stood in the Fenway clubhouse.

The first call he made was to his father, a “surreal” moment for the Mayer family.

“The emotions were running pretty high,” he said. “It’s something me and my family have worked towards ever since I started playing the game, so it was a moment that I definitely wanted to share with them before it got out to the media.”

Mayer’s parents would have to watch his big-league debut on TV, but he hoped they’d be able to fly out in time for Sunday afternoon’s game.

Shipping up to Boston, so to speak, was another hurdle. Mayer lost his keys about three weeks ago, but because minor leaguers are now given housing near their respective ballpark, he didn’t rush to replace them. But now, there was the greatest, most pressing need. One of the WooSox clubhouse attendants drove him, instead.

Mayer spent the drive focused on responding to texts from friends and family. But Boston traffic can penetrate even the happiest bubble. The streets around the ballpark were also crowded with hordes of fans coming to see his debut.

“The clubbie was making jokes to like, get a police escort to get everybody out of the way because he was getting more nervous than me,” Mayer said with a chuckle.

“It’s awesome to play for a city like this that cares so much about their team and is so passionate about the Red Sox and the Red Sox winning,” he added of the Fenway Faithful. “It kind of holds everybody to a higher level of play and it’s something that I’m looking forward to play for.”

Thankfully, the Red Sox didn’t need to recreate Doug Mirabelli’s May 2006 return. Mayer walked into the clubhouse moments after Rafael Devers won the top of the doubleheader with a walk-off RBI single in the 10th inning.

Standing in there, on the cusp of the culmination of everything he’s done to get himself this moment, Mayer simply said it felt good and that he was ready to do whatever he could to help the team.

“It’s not really like how you draw it up, it’s not really how I envisioned it,” Mayer said, “but, you know, I’m super happy to be here and super blessed.”

Bregman to IL

When Bregman left Friday’s game with what was initially described as right quad tightness, the hope was that the standout infielder would feel better after a good night sleep.

Unfortunately for the Red Sox that didn’t happen, and now Bregman could be out for a long time.

Bregman was placed on the 10-day injured list Saturday afternoon after an MRI confirmed he has a significant right quad strain. Manager Alex Cora said the injury is similar to one Bregman suffered in 2021, which kept him out for 58 games.

“A significant injury, he’s going to be out for a while,” Cora said following Saturday’s early game. “Hopefully trusting our medical staff it’s sooner rather than later but he’s going to be out for a while.”

Bregman said following Saturday afternoon’s game that he initially felt OK on Friday night but that he felt more pain as the night went on and that it was difficult for him to fall asleep. He said the results of the MRI were disappointing and surprising, but that now he has no choice but to focus on getting back as soon as possible.

“Yeah no doubt, it surprised me a lot,” Bregman said. “But it is what it is and now I’m going to try and take it day by day and crush rehab.”

Bregman has been Boston’s most productive all-around player and was enjoying the best start of his career. The two-time All-Star was batting .299 with 11 home runs, 35 RBI and a .938 OPS through his first 51 games, and his 3.0 Wins Above Replacement was the best mark on the team.

To fill his spot on the roster, the Red Sox called up Mayer and transferred first baseman Triston Casas to the 60-day injured list.

Devers not in the mix

Even with Bregman’s injury, Devers isn’t expected to be in the mix at third base despite being not only the team’s longest-tenured player — and therefore most Fenway-familiar — but also it’s most experienced at third (951 career regular-season games).

Cora initially said “no” to his new designated hitter returning to the field, then backtracked moments later, saying, “We made a decision, and we’ll continue to talk. I’m not saying we’re gonna close the door and all that, but we feel very comfortable with Rafael Devers as DH.”

Devers entered Saturday hitting .299/.415/.557 over 52 games (tied for the MLB lead), leading the majors with 47 RBI, and leading the American League with 39 walks. With two home runs on Friday he moved ahead of Rico Petrocelli for sole possession of 10th on the franchise’s all-time home-run list. Devers is one home run away from tying Jim Rice for most homers by a Red Sox player before turning 29, and his birthday isn’t until October.

“He’s dominating the strike zone,” Cora said. “He’s gone through stretches like that in his career and they’ve been really good, but this is the most consistent I’ve seen him.”

After a historically-high strikeout-filled start to the season, Devers is punching out at 23.8% clip, nearly a full point lower than last year, and 16.5% walk rate is in the 98th MLB percentile and is over 5% better than his previous career mark, and he’s hitting the ball harder than ever before: 59.3% hard-hit rate (99th MLB percentile) and 95.1 mph average exit velocity (98th percentile).

“Maybe we’re doing it right, maybe we’re doing it wrong, I don’t know,” Cora said. “I know that the guy is raking. He’s the best DH in the American League right now. If he keeps continuing to do this, he’s going to be in the All-Star Game as a DH, he’s gonna win a Silver Slugger as a DH.”

Newcomb DFA’d

Sean Newcomb has been living every Massachusetts-born ballplayer’s dream over the past two months, but his time with the Red Sox may be winding down.

The former Middleborough High standout was designated for assignment by the Red Sox following the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader. To fill his spot on the roster, the Red Sox called up right-hander Luis Guerrero from Triple-A.

The left-hander will now be made available to other teams, though he could still remain with the organization and be outrighted to Triple-A if he clears waivers.