Kristian Campbell, Craig Breslow share why it felt like the right time to sign an extension
"I canāt pass on that,ā Kristian Campbell said.
For several years, the Red Sox had some trouble getting many of their top young players to sign an extension. That wasn’t the case with Kristian Campbell, though.
Campbell and the Red Sox agreed to an eight-year extension on Wednesday, just a few days after it was reported that the two sides were nearing an agreement. In fact, Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow shared Saturday that talks with Campbell’s agent, Dan Horwits of Beverly Hills Sports, were going so well during their opening series in Texas that he missed the team bus for one of their games.
“Danny was kind enough to drive me over to the field,” Breslow told reporters on Saturday. “What otherwise could’ve been an awkward moment was, in fact, endearing.”
Campbell’s extension was cause for celebration around the Red Sox this past week, with the team holding a press conference Saturday to mark the occasion. But as Campbell just completed his first week in the majors, his new deal could be paying him less than what his value is over the next few years. He’ll only receive $60 million guaranteed over eight seasons, buying out the first two years he was eligible for free agency.
So, while some wondered why Campbell signed an extension so soon, he felt that the timing was right and the deal was too good to pass up on.
“I was educated throughout this whole process, and it was just a life-changing opportunity for me and my family,” Campbell said. “And I can’t pass on that.”
There are also two club options following the first eight years of Campbell’s deal, which could bring the value of the contract up to $100 million over 10 years, not including bonuses. If Campbell lives up to the hype as one of baseball’s top prospects — and he has through his first eight games, hitting .423 with two homers — the 22-year-old likely won’t hit free agency until he’s 32.
The idea of not hitting free agency until you’re on the wrong side of 30 might be a scary proposition for some, but not for Campbell.
“It’s a great place to be for when I am 30 and beyond,” Campbell said. “So, I have no complaints about it. It’s something I’ve thought about for a long time. It’s something I’m really excited for. So, I couldn’t ask for much more.”
As for why the Red Sox got the deal done so early in Campbell’s career, Breslow liked what he saw out of the hopeful star throughout spring training to make him comfortable in giving him a longterm deal.
“I wouldn’t say there was a concrete timeline,” Breslow said on when he knew he wanted to give Campbell an extension. “I would say that we’re all aware of the season Kristian had last year, but we also wanted to expose him to a major league environment and see how he was able to acclimate himself to that. He did so spectacularly well.
“It’s easy to get caught up in the statistics in spring training, batting average and those types of things, but what we saw in talking to the coaches and [Alex Cora], was progress every day, a lot of the things that aren’t front of mind and center to the rest of us. His ability to make adjustments is probably the defining characteristic. … We saw everything we needed to see throughout spring training.”
While locking in top young talent to longterm extensions hasn’t been a common occurrence in Boston, it has been a trend around the league in recent years. Breslow noted that teams are getting “better and better at forecasting” at how well they think their young players might perform at the next level, but those projections go beyond stats.
“These are investments, not just in a particular set of skills or metrics or batted-ball profiles, these are investments in people,” Breslow said. “[Red Sox CEO] Sam [Kennedy] talked about Kristian’s humility, our coaching staff knows him incredibly well, and some of the adjustments he was able to make throughout the season.
“This is a guy who, hours after playing his last game in the minor leagues last season, was going to Fort Myers to start his offseason training. So, he’s the type of guy you feel really comfortable making a bet on.”
Campbell’s extension capped off what’s been a busy few months for the Red Sox’ front office. It also marked the second straight day where the Red Sox held a press conference to celebrate an extension, doing the same on Friday for Garrett Crochet.
Kennedy credited Red Sox ownership, saying the group was “pushing us to be aggressive in terms of locking up the future.” He also made sure to tip his cap to Breslow, too.
“I just want to say what an incredible offseason Craig Breslow has had,” Kennedy said. “He’s been extraordinary. I think we need to get him and Kelly (Breslow’s wife) on a vacation sometime soon.”
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