Will Red Sox move Kristian Campbell to first base? Team is starting the process
"It’s gonna take some time. But it’s something I’m willing to do to help the team."
The Red Sox are still searching for options at first base after Triston Casas suffered a season-ending knee injury earlier this month.
So far, Rafael Devers has been hesitant to make the switch from DH to first base to account for Casas’ absence, while Boston’s contingency plan at first in Romy Gonzalez was placed on the IL last week due to a quad injury.
As such, the Red Sox are now turning to one of their younger players in search of a solution.
Hours ahead of Friday’s matchup against the Atlanta Braves, Red Sox rookie Kristian Campbell was taking reps at first base and working on infield drills alongside coaches — signaling that the second baseman is bracing for a move across the infield.
While Campbell is slated to remain at second for Friday’s game, Red Sox manager Alex Cora confirmed that the process is underway for Campbell to potentially move over to first in the coming weeks.
“Looking for options,” Cora said pregame. “Obviously, we’re getting Romy [back] probably by the end of the week or early next week. But just introducing him to first base and seeing how it looks. … The process started. It can take 10 days, 15 days, a month, two months, but we started the process. We’re introducing him to first base.”
Given Campbell’s versatility across the diamond, the 22-year-old rookie could add some stability to what has been a major vacancy on Boston’s depth chart — while also opening up a spot for another blue-chip prospect to step into a big-league role moving forward.
Even if Campbell’s long-term future likely has him tabbed as a second baseman or corner outfielder, a one-year stint at first would clear up several headaches for Boston, given Casas’ injury.
“Me and A.C. talked about it,“ Campbell said of his position swich, per MassLive’s Chris Cotillo. ”Got to learn the position, obviously. It’s gonna take some time. But it’s something I’m willing to do to help the team. I’ve never played over there before. Not sure exactly what the plans are. It’s something I definitely have to get used to.”
Even with some of the growing pains that will come with moving to first base, Campbell making the move off second would allow Boston to potentially call up one of their top prospects in Marcelo Mayer — who can play both shortstop and second base.
Boston could also shift the versatile Ceddanne Rafaela into the infield rotation, potentially opening the door for Roman Anthony to make his big-league debut.
Barring additional injuries, there isn’t a seamless way for the Red Sox to push both Anthony and Mayer up to Boston — even if the duo is teeing off against Triple-A competition.
Campbell moving to first also isn’t an ideal landing post for the rookie. But with Casas out of the equation, Boston is running out of viable options.
“Obviously, we’re throwing this at him but we believe he can actually digest it,” Cora said. “This is not like, ‘Oh, K.C. is playing first base tomorrow.’ We just want to see the footwork, how he moves and go from there. “He’s just an athlete. He has played all over the place. He’s learning how to play second base at this level.”
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