Kristian Campbell continues to make case for return to Red Sox since demotion to Triple-A
The 23-year-old is batting .285 with an .867 OPS in 42 games with the Worcester Red Sox.
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Red Sox rookie Kristian Campbell turned heads in his first month of MLB action in April. The 23-year-old won the league’s American League Rookie of the Month award after starting his career with a .301 batting average, .902 OPS, four home runs and 12 RBI in 29 games. He looked smooth at second base, too, committing three errors through 211 ⅓ innings.
May and June were a different story for Campbell, though. In 38 games, he batted .169 with a .506 OPS, 20 total hits (including two doubles and one home run) and nine RBI. Defensively, he logged four more errors at second base and began to look more like a rookie at the position.
Boston opted to demote Campbell to Triple-A Worcester on June 21 amid his cold streak. It was a necessary move at the time, but raised eyebrows given that the team and player had agreed to an eight-year, $60 million contract two-and-a-half months earlier. The Red Sox made the sudden decision to place Campbell on the Opening Day roster just days before inking the extension, both signs indicating they had full confidence in the rookie.
Since being sent to Worcester, Campbell has found his swing again. Through 42 games, he’s batting .285 with an .867 OPS. He’s hit six home runs, tying his total with the big-league club to start the season. Two of them have come in August. Campbell has also driven in 23 runs, drawn 25 walks, and crossed home plate 31 times.
Defensively, he’s played a variety of positions: first base (23 games), second base (11), and left field (1, on Aug. 14). Campbell has committed two errors apiece at 1B and 2B.
The stat sheet shows Campbell is ready to return to Boston. With fellow infielder David Hamilton’s demotion earlier this week, perhaps the Red Sox will give the rookie another chance down the stretch as they look to make the playoffs for the first time since 2021.
Still, Alex Cora said that Campbell has “work to do” in the minors and that his return to the majors isn’t imminent.
“It’s the same things he struggled here with,” Cora told reporters on Friday. “Pitch recognition, covering certain shapes of fastballs. That’s something that’s hard because he’s not gonna get that down there. He’s not. The velo here is harder, it’s faster. Locations are on point here. With all due respect to the players down there, the gap is a big gap.
“Just one of those where we’ve got to keep working. He’s got to keep working and see what the future holds.”
Nevertheless, Campbell has gotten the job done in the batter’s box and appears to be playing a solid right side of the infield. Entering Friday, he’s logged a hit in 19 of his last 22 games, batting .370 with three doubles, five home runs, 14 RBI and 20 runs scored.
The Red Sox have five infielders on their active roster entering Friday (Alex Bregman, Romy Gonzalez, Ceddanne Rafaela, Trevor Story, Abraham Toro). Notably, Rafaela has played 18 games at 2B compared to 103 in center field this season.
Therefore, given Hamilton’s recent demotion and Campbell’s hot streak, it’s easy to wonder if the door for Campbell to be promoted back to Boston is ajar with a month-and-a-half remaining in the regular season.
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