I hate seeing one of my own struggle. Kristian Campbell and I graduated from the same high school. While he gets to play baseball for a living, I get to write about it on occasion. I knew that he was a top prospect in the Boston Red Sox organization. Everyone told me. Even if he looked the part initially, I could not understand for the life of me why Boston gave him an eight-year extension this prematurely.
Over the last three months, Campbell has a WAR of -0.4. He is hitting .229 on the season with six home runs and 21 runs batted in over the course of 60 games. Boston has had a myriad of issues so far this season, but I think it is a combination of promising prospects not ready for the spotlight, a defense that nobody can get behind, and a manager who is living on borrowed time in one Alex Cora.
So how bad has it gotten for Campbell in Boston? Alex Speier said on NESN "that the Red Sox are taking in consideration if it would benefit Kristian Campbell to go back to Worcester once [Wilyer] Abreu is back with the team." Abreu is on the injured list and could return in short order. Boston is paying Campbell $60 million over the next eight years to be less than a replacement level player.
I am becoming less impressed by Cora by the day, as he does not put his young stars in great spots.
Speier says on NESN that the Red Sox are taking in consideration if it would benefit Kristian Campbell to go back to Worcester once Abreu is back with the team.
— Boston Strong (@BostonStrong_34) June 10, 2025
If you want more proof of that, look at the moronic move he did in Roman Anthony's Red Sox debut.
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Kristian Campbell might need to go back to the minors to find himself
I have a lot to unpack here, but the idea of sending down Campbell speaks to me quite a bit. First off, I have said it before and I will say it again. Prospects do nothing for me. Baseball is such a tough game. How good you were in high school, college or the minor leagues may not translate to MLB. It is why I need to see it happen before I pay a guy big-time money, even if Campbell shares my alma mater...
While it is not Campbell's fault for getting all that money so soon, it is the Red Sox's fault for paying him well before they ever had to. I understand that money grows on trees in this economy, but I think we may need to take a shift back to hiring better managers and holding them accountable in baseball. General managers can build whatever team they want from up in their ivory towers. Make them own it!
What I am getting at is this entire situation, debacle or whatever we want to call it could have been completely avoided. When a player gets a massive extension like that, they will almost always end up playing tight, especially if they are young. They feel compelled to earn that new deal. It ultimately becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy I have seen far too many times, especially with the Atlanta Braves...
Replacing with Abreu or not, Campbell needs a complete reset and so does the Red Sox organization.