In order to finalise their Opening Day roster, the Boston Red Sox had to decide where to put top prospect Kristian Campbell. According to Chris Cotillo of MassLive and Ari Alexander of KPRC 2, Campbell, the seventh-ranked prospect in baseball, made the Boston Opening Day roster.
Given that Boston decided to start Alex Bregman at third base during spring training, which allowed Campbell to start at second base, the 22-year-old was a good candidate to make the cut.
During his 19-game spring training sample, Campbell had offensive difficulties. He went 8-for-46 with two doubles, one home run, two RBIs, and 17 strikeouts while slashing.174/.304/.283. Some questioned if Boston’s management, including manager Alex Cora and chief baseball officer Craig Breslow, would feel comfortable starting Campbell as a result of his performance. However, Campbell will remain with the Red Sox despite his spring struggle at the plate.
Although there is no guarantee that Campbell will be Cora’s preferred second baseman when the Red Sox play the Texas Rangers on Thursday to start the season, given the composition of their team, it is the most likely position.
Last season, Campbell jumped from High-A Greenville to Double-A Portland to Triple-A Worcester, a rapid ascent through the minor league rankings. In 517 total plate appearances with the Drive, Sea Dogs, and WooSox, he hit.330/.439/.558 with 20 home runs and 24 steals (in 32 tries). With four home runs and 17 RBIs at the end of the season, Campbell was voted Baseball America’s Minor League Offensive Player of the Year for Worcester.
Campbell was left in wonder since he was forgotten as Marcelo Mayer, Roman Anthony, and Kyle Teel, who is currently with the Chicago White Sox, received most of the attention.
Before being honoured at Fenway Park last September, Campbell stated, “It was definitely more than I expected coming into the season because I’ve never really hit home runs before in the past.” If you had asked me before the season if I would have hit 20 home runs, I would have said, ‘No, no way I would’ve done that.’ However, I feel like a couple during the season. I work hard every day on the tasks the team assigns me and the work I put in, so I’m not really surprised. It also helps me prepare. All of the effort I’ve put in manifests itself clearly.
The 2022 fourth-round pick was an intriguing choice because of Campbell’s dependable glovework and power-generating stroke. The Red Sox have relied heavily on a number of minor-league veterans platooning to keep the ball from rolling in the outfield in recent seasons due to their lack of continuity at second base. Boston finished its most recent season with a league-high 115 errors, proving that it hasn’t worked.
By making several offseason additions to their lineup, infield, bullpen, and starting rotation, the Red Sox were able to reduce the burden that comes with being promoted to the major leagues. Consequently, even though the team’s overall expectations have gone up, Campbell won’t have to bear the burden of the globe.