SAN FRANCISCO -- When the Red Sox agreed to an eight-year, $60 million contract with Kristian Campbell less than a week into the highly-touted prospect’s Major League career, it demonstrated the club’s faith in the right-handed hitter’s long-term outlook.
While that hasn’t wavered, Boston has decided that it is in Campbell’s best short-term interests to go back to Triple-A Worcester, a source told MLB.com.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan was first to report the news, which the club has not confirmed.
The move will open a spot on the roster for right fielder Wilyer Abreu, who is expected to be activated from the 10-day injured list in time for Friday night’s game in San Francisco.
After he won the American League’s Rookie of the Month Award in March/April, Campbell’s bat went ice cold and his defense at second base became spotty.
Of late, the Red Sox have been using David Hamilton as the primary option at second base. The speedy Hamilton has also had a hard time getting his bat going this season, but he will likely continue to get his share of reps there until Alex Bregman returns from the injured list at some point in July.
The 22-year-old Campbell broke camp with the team after winning the second base job in Spring Training. In his first 28 games and 99 at-bats, Campbell slashed .313/.420/.515 with eight doubles, four homers and 12 RBIs.
But in 35 games and 130 at-bats after that, Campbell’s line was .154/.236/.215 with two homers and nine RBIs.
Campbell, Mayer and Roman Anthony (Pipeline’s No. 1 prospect) are Boston’s "Big 3" prospects. When Anthony got his callup on June 9, all three players were together on the MLB roster for 10 days.
Campbell, who graduated from prospect status, will get a chance to regain his confidence and work on his defense in a less stressful environment.
Keep in mind that Campbell -- selected by the Red Sox in the fourth round of the 2023 Draft out of Georgia Tech -- has only 138 games and 601 plate appearances in the Minors. Only 19 of those games were at Triple-A.
When Spring Training started, the biggest priority the Red Sox set for Campbell was for him to become more comfortable with all the nuances involved in playing second base.
Though Campbell’s work ethic has been noted by just about everyone, it hasn’t translated in the field, as his minus-14 defensive runs saved at second base ranks last for any player at any position in 2025. As a group, Red Sox infielders have accumulated minus-14 outs above average, tied with the Padres for the third-worst total in MLB.
The Red Sox also have given Campbell playing time in the outfield, as he's made nine appearances there. But those opportunities figured to be even less going forward with Abreu returning this weekend and Masataka Yoshida perhaps getting activated next month.