Red Sox's Kristian Campbell: Will focus on adding strength
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Red Sox director of player development Brian Abraham said recently that adding strength will be "a big focus" for Campbell this offseason, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.
Campbell lost weight during the season -- which is fairly typical, particularly for young players -- and the Red Sox believe that contributed to a dip in how hard he was able to impact the ball. It was a disappointing rookie campaign for Campbell, who finished with a .223/.319/.345 batting line over 67 games for the Red Sox before spending the final three-plus months in the minors. The 23-year-old will compete in spring training for a spot on Boston's Opening Day roster. Campbell is primarily a second baseman, but he also saw playing time in the outfield for the Red Sox and was introduced to first base at Triple-A Worcester.
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Red Sox's Kristian Campbell: Promotion not imminent
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Red Sox manager Alex Cora acknowledged Sunday that Campbell has been productive at Triple-A Worcester of late, but the skipper suggested that the 23-year-old still has work to do before earning another promotion to the majors, Jenn McCaffrey of The Athletic reports. "The same things that he struggled here [in the majors] with -- pitch recognition, covering certain shapes of fastballs," Cora said. "That's something that is hard, because he's not going to get that down there. The [velocity] here is harder. It's faster. Locations are on point here."
Campbell is hitting .323 with a .943 OPS in 26 games for Worcester since the All-Star break, but Cora outlined the areas where the infielder can improve. While an injury to another infielder could open the door for Campbell to rejoin the big club, the rookie otherwise might have to wait until the roster expands in September before getting another call-up to Boston.
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Red Sox's Kristian Campbell: Heating up at Triple-A
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Campbell is slashing .481/.548/.852 with three home runs and a 5:4 K:BB over 31 plate appearances across his last seven games with Triple-A Worcester.
Campbell had posted a .645 OPS and 34 percent strikeout rate in his first 22 contests after being optioned to Worcester, but he appears to have found his rhythm at the plate. The 23-year-old has also been used primarily at first base lately with Worcester, and it's at that position where he has the best chance to impact the Red Sox in the final two months of the season.
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Red Sox's Kristian Campbell: Makes debut at first base
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Campbell started at first base and went 0-for-4 for Triple-A Worcester on Wednesday.
Campbell struck out four times but handled the defensive chores without an issue. It was his third game with the WooSox since the Red Sox sent him down. He served as the designated hitter in the first two contests. Worcester manager Chad Tracy told Christopher Smith of MassLive.com that Campbell will play first base "a few games a week." In addition to first base, Campbell will play second base and center field.
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Red Sox's Kristian Campbell: Will focus on first base in minors
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Campbell will primarily focus on learning first base at Triple-A Worcester, Rob Bradford of WEEI.com reports.
Campbell will still see some action at second base, but the Red Sox want Campbell to focus on first base after he was optioned to Triple-A earlier Friday. The rookie primarily played second with the big-league club while also seeing some time in the outfield. With Triston Casas (knee) out for the season and Rafael Devers shipped to San Francisco, Campbell appears to be the team's next plan for first base. Campbell will also need to get his bat back on track with Worcester after he slashed just .176/.270/.231 over his last 30 MLB contests.
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Red Sox's Kristian Campbell: Officially optioned
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The Red Sox optioned Campbell to Triple-A Worcester on Friday, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.
Campbell has been slumping at the plate and struggling in the field recently, and Boston will send him down to Triple-A to get back on track. In his last 30 MLB games, Campbell slashed .176/.270/.231 with a 28.8 percent strikeout rate. His spot on the active roster goes to Wilyer Abreu (oblique), who is coming off the injured list.
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Red Sox's Kristian Campbell: Will be demoted to Triple-A
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The Red Sox are expected to option Campbell to Triple-A Worcester ahead of Friday's series opener against the Giants, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.
Campbell broke into the big leagues with a .301/.407/.495 batting line through the end of April, but he has slashed only .159/.243/.222 since and has also struggled defensively at second base. He'll get a reset at Worcester and has a good chance to rejoin the big club later this season. David Hamilton has started each of the last three games at second base for the Red Sox and should continue to hold down the position for the time being against righties. Once Alex Bregman (quad) comes back, Marcelo Mayer is an option to shift to the keystone.
Campbell is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Mariners.
Campbell started the previous nine games -- including a look at designated hitter Monday -- and will receive a day off after batting .280 (7-for-25) with four walks, a double, a homer, five RBI and two runs during that span. The rookie second baseman still has an underwhelming .675 OPS through his first 65 big-league games, but the departure of Rafael Devers to San Francisco should help Campbell maintain a consistent spot in the lineup, at least for the immediate future.
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Red Sox's Kristian Campbell: First crack at DH gig
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Campbell will serve as the designated hitter and bat ninth against the Mariners on Monday, Adam Jude of The Seattle Times reports.
The Red Sox will be experimenting with their lineup after trading Rafael Devers to the Giants on Sunday. Campbell will be the first to take on DH duties while David Hamilton starts at second base. Campbell has gone 8-for-37 (.216) with two doubles, one home run and five RBI since the beginning of June.
Campbell went 1-for-3 with a walk and a double in Tuesday's 4-3 extra-inning loss to the Angels.
Campbell's third-inning double was just his second extra-base hit since April 29. A rookie season that got off to a promising start -- Campbell had an .848 OPS in April -- went south in May, when he went 11-for-82 (.134) with a .355 OPS. Boston manager Alex Cora told Christopher Smith of MassLive.com that he prefers Campbell to work through his struggles in the majors, but the Red Sox haven't ruled out a demotion to Triple-A Worcester if the 22-year-old is unable to get going at the plate. Campbell batted ninth for a second straight game Tuesday.
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Red Sox's Kristian Campbell: First base experiment tabled
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Red Sox manager Alex Cora said Monday that using Campbell at first base is "nothing that we're planning on doing now," Christopher Smith of MassLive.com reports.
Abraham Toro has played well and Romy Gonzalez (quad) was activated from the 10-day injured list earlier Monday, so the Red Sox have less of a need for Campbell at first base. Campbell will still take pregame grounders at the position, but the rookie appears set to stick to playing second base and occasionally center field for the time being.
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Red Sox's Kristian Campbell: Moved down to nine spot
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Campbell will start at second base and bat ninth in Monday's contest versus the Angels.
Campbell has hit eighth a few times -- including twice over the weekend -- but this is the first time this season he's occupied the lowest spot in the batting order. The rookie is sporting a lowly. .361 OPS since the beginning of May.
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Red Sox's Kristian Campbell: Starting, but not at first base
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Campbell will start at second base and bat seventh in Sunday's game against Atlanta, Ian Browne of MLB.com reports.
The fact that Campbell is playing second base is unexpected after manager Alex Cora had previously said that he planned to give the rookie his first career start at first base this weekend. Cora will instead use Abraham Toro at first base in the series finale. Campbell has been taking pregame reps at first base for a couple weeks now and could eventually get a look if the team is comfortable with his defense.
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Red Sox's Kristian Campbell: Falls in batting order
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Campbell is batting eighth Friday against Atlanta.
Campbell is expected to get one start at first base during this weekend's series, but he's starting at second base in this one. He is hitting .114 with one home run and zero steals in his last 22 games and this is the third time this season he's hit lower than seventh and the first time since May 23 he's hit eighth.
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Red Sox's Kristian Campbell: Playing game at 1B over weekend
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Manager Alex Cora said Wednesday that Campbell will play first base during one game of Boston's three-game series in Atlanta that starts Friday, Sean McAdam of MassLive.com reports.
The Red Sox have been searching for an answer at first base since Triston Casas (knee) suffered a season-ending injury in early May, and the search became even more dire a week later when Romy Gonzalez (quadriceps) hit the injured list. Campbell began taking first-base reps during pregame warmups shortly after Gonzalez's injury, and he'll get his first crack at in-game action this weekend. The 23-year-old rookie is slashing .225/.312/.354 in 202 plate appearances this season.
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Red Sox's Kristian Campbell: On bench Wednesday
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Campbell is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Brewers.
Campbell will get the day off Wednesday after making four consecutive starts. In his place, David Hamilton will bat seventh and play second base.
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Red Sox's Kristian Campbell: Not close to playing 1B in games
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Red Sox manager Alex Cora said Tuesday that Campbell is not close to playing first base in games, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports.
Campbell has been working out pregame at first base as the team mulls its options at first base in the wake of Triston Casas' season-ending knee injury. While it seems as though the rookie is under real consideration to play the position in the future, it doesn't sound like it will happen anytime soon. Campbell is starting in center field and batting fifth for the Red Sox on Tuesday against the Mets.
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Red Sox's Kristian Campbell: Expected back in lineup Tuesday
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Red Sox bench coach Ramon Vazquez said Monday that Campbell is healthy and expected back in the lineup Tuesday against the Mets, Christopher Smith of MassLive.com reports.
Campbell is out of the lineup for a second straight day Monday. Vazquez indicated that it's a "reset" for Campbell, who is hitting only .085/.104/.149 in May. The days off will also allow Campbell to put in more pregame work at first base, where the rookie has been taking reps as the Red Sox consider him as a replacement at that position for the injured Triston Casas (knee).
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