BOSTON -- On the two-week anniversary of Triston Casas suffering a season-ending injury to his left knee, the Red Sox added an intriguing potential solution to replace him at first base.
Rookie Kristian Campbell, who has played mostly second base and a little bit of outfield this season, had an extensive workout at first base with Red Sox infield instructor José Flores prior to Friday night’s opener against the Braves.
“Yep, looking for options,” said manager Alex Cora. “Obviously, we’re getting Romy [Gonzalez back from the injured list] probably at the end of the week, early next week. But we’re just introducing [Campbell] to first base to see how it looks. That’s where we’re at.”
First base isn’t a position the Red Sox have much depth at in the upper Minors and it’s hard for teams to pull off trades this early in the season, so thinking outside the box could be the way to go.
Campbell -- who played all positions except pitcher, catcher and first base in the Minor Leagues -- is happy to try something new for an admirable reason.
“Whatever makes the team better, that's the position I’ll play,” said Campbell. “I'm used to second base, because I played that in college. But whatever makes the team better at the time.”
Not only could Campbell playing first base make the team better at that position, but it could open a door for the Red Sox to call up No. 2 prospect Marcelo Mayer from Triple-A Worcester to make his Major League debut.
Though Mayer is a natural shortstop, he played some second base for Boston during Spring Training and has started five games at that position for Worcester this season.
Rafael Devers, who moved from third base to designated hitter this season to make room for free-agent acquisition Alex Bregman, acknowledged last week that chief baseball officer Craig Breslow asked him if he would be willing to try first base. Devers expressed reluctance to do so.
There’s always the chance Devers could change his mind. The decision to have Campbell work out at first doesn’t mean a potential switch for Devers to first is completely off the board.
“That doesn’t have to do with Raffy,” said Cora.
The idea to experiment with Campbell at first was so fresh that he used a loaner glove from Flores for Friday’s workout.
“We’re working on that,” Campbell said. “I think I have my own on the way. I already have an infielder’s glove and an outfielder’s glove, so might as well add a first-base [mitt].
The Red Sox weren’t ready to make any grand evaluations of Campbell as a first baseman after one workout.
“First workout,” said Cora. “It’s like, ‘KC, this is first base. First base, this is KC.’ And now we go.”
Is there a timeline of when Campbell’s practice work could translate into game action?
“I mean, the process started, right?” said Cora. “It can take 10 days, 15 days, a month, two months. But we started the process and we're introducing him to first base.”
The 22-year-old Campbell, who seems unflappable about everything, felt comfortable during his initial workout at first.
“I felt pretty comfortable,” said Campbell. “They do a really good job of introducing new things to me all the time. It’s just another position. I’ve got to learn the position. Obviously, it���s going to take some time. It’s something I’m willing to do to help the team.”