While the Boston Red Sox are starting to heat up, Kristian Campbell is being sent down. ESPN's Jeff Passan was all over Campbell being optioned to Triple-A Worcester after struggling mightily at the plate over the last two months. Passan pointed out he was hitting .301/.407/.495 in April, but has since slashed .159/.243/.222 at the plate since. He is hitting .223/.319/.345 in 67 games this season.
Campbell was a top prospect in the Red Sox organization, climbing quickly through their minor league system out of Georgia Tech. A hot first week to his rookie season saw the Red Sox unexpectedly open up the check book for him. They unbelievably gave him an eight-year contract extension worth $60 million. Once again, this is why you should spend you money on players who are in their primes.
Even if this is painful for Campbell, the Red Sox and every involved, it had to be done. Campbell's inability to play up to his big contract this soon had him cracking under the pressure. The persistent nonsense that has been commonplace in the infield probably did not help either. He needs to get more confident at the plate again, as well as not having to learn how to play some first base on the fly.
The Triston Casas injury and Abraham Toro's inconsistencies have make first base a revolving door.
The Boston Red Sox are sending infielder Kristian Campbell to Triple-A, sources tell ESPN. Campbell, who signed an eight-year, $60 million contract this spring, was hitting .301/.407/.495 at the end of April but is .159/.243/.222 since. He'll get a chance to reset in Worcester.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) June 19, 2025
In what is probably the best thing for Campbell, he gets to get away from manager Alex Cora for a bit.
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What is the best action plan for the Red Sox regarding Kristian Campbell?
No matter what happens this season, the Red Sox need to move on from Cora. I do not trust him to be the right guy to handle all the interesting personalities in the clubhouse, young and old. Boston may be playing slightly above .500 baseball of late, but we all know how this is going to end. Are they going to catch the New York Yankees? No. What about the Tampa Bay Rays? Potentially. It will end in failure.
To best protect one of their high-priced, but depreciated assets, Boston needs to allow Campbell enough time to fix what is wrong with his swing and approach at the plate. That could be for a few weeks, a few months, I do not know. The whole point is he is under contract for the next several years, so get used to him being part of your team. The position he will end up playing remains to be seen.
A rejuvenated sense of confidence could be exactly what Campbell needs at the plate. Not only is this a consequence of paying him big money grossly premature, but this is why you cannot skip steps at the minor league level, even if it looks like you are breezing through the curriculum. These at-bats at the minor league level matter a ton. Players must be able to go through slumps and get out of them.
This is not how Boston wanted it to go for Campbell at all, but we can only hope for a better tomorrow.