Boston Red Sox
“We saw a glimpse of what that upside could be in his 2024 season in totality, and then the first month of the season in 2025.”
The Red Sox’ youth movement in 2025 might have been headlined by the arrival of Roman Anthony.
But it was Kristian Campbell who broke camp with Boston in late March as the first of Boston’s blue-chip talents to make it to the big leagues.
The slugging prospect, who quickly rose through the ranks of Boston’s farm system, was seemingly poised to be a key cog in Alex Cora’s lineup this past summer.
After putting pen to paper on an eight-year extension in April, Campbell took home the AL Rookie of the Month Award after batting .301 with four home runs, eight doubles, 12 RBIs and a .902 OPS across 29 games.
But Campbell’s play regressed as the summer months arrived. From the start of May until his demotion to Triple-A Worcester in mid-June, Campbell batted .159 with four extra-base hits, 40 strikeouts and a .465 OPS — while also committing seven errors at second base.
He did not return to the big leagues for the remainder of the year, batting .273 with eight home runs and 38 RBI over 73 games with Worcester.
Campbell’s bat still offers plenty of intrigue for the Red Sox moving forward — a sentiment validated by his scorching start at the plate in March and April.
But how exactly Boston utilizes the 23-year-old prospect as an everyday option in 2026 and beyond remains an ongoing discussion for Boston’s top brass.
As Craig Breslow and the Red Sox try to reshuffle their roster this offseason, Boston’s chief baseball officer stressed in the first order of business for Campbell’s future is limiting him to just one spot in the field and letting him settle into that role.
Along with struggling at second base in 2025, Campbell also earned reps at first base, center field, left field, and right field this past season.
“That’s something we’re actively discussing,” Breslow told MassLive’s Chris Cotillo about finding the proper spot for Campbell. “Even if that may not be the case long-term, perhaps in the short term, just giving him some stability and certainty to where he’s going to play and maybe easing some of the kind of mental demands on trying to play multiple positions at the same time.”
A spot in the outfield might be the best fit for Campbell if he settles in as a big-leaguer. But that creates more issues for Boston, considering that the Red Sox already have a logjam of outfielders in place between Jarren Duran, Roman Anthony, Wilyer Abreu, and Ceddanne Rafalea.
The writing was on the wall this winter that at least one of Abreu, Duran, or Rafaela will be moved during the offseason in order to thin out that depth chart.
But if Campbell is ready for MLB reps in 2026, Boston would have to potentially move two outfielders this winter — or at least carve out a platoon spot for Campbell moving forward.
Of course, those potential roster headaches would also be a welcomed challenge for Brewslow and his staff — especially if Campbell is producing at the plate next spring and summer.
While Boston tries to keep Campbell to just one spot in the field, the onus is also going to have to fall on the slugger to rekindle the production that made him on the top rising stars in the minors over the last few years.
“We saw a glimpse of what that upside could be in his 2024 season in totality, and then the first month of the season in 2025,” Breslow said of Campbell, per Cotillo. “It’s not a secret that he struggled after that and some of those struggles continued when he went down to Triple-A. But we still are incredibly optimistic and confident what that upside looks like.
“He spent a couple days in Fort Myers last week with some of our hitting group and he looks big and strong and is back to the size and frame that he was last year. He’s swinging the bat fast again. I think the offseason, to have both a mental and physical reset, has been really valuable for him.”
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