Four days after the Boston Red Sox said goodbye to Rafael Devers, the team is set to demote one of the prospects who was supposed to help replace him as a franchise player.
Boston plans to option second baseman Kristian Campbell back to Triple-A Worcester, according to MLB.com. The club has not confirmed the move, but figures to do it on Friday ahead of its game against Devers and the San Francisco Giants.
Doing so means the Red Sox will eat part of the eight-year, $60 million contract extension they signed Campbell to early in the season.
Not much has gone according to plan for the 39-37 Red Sox this season, who made headlines earlier this week when they traded away their longest-tenured player in Devers over a simmering position dispute. Somehow, Campbell was a factor in Devers’ unhappiness, with Joon Lee reporting for Yahoo Sports that Devers was upset when Campbell volunteered to cover first base for the Red Sox after Triston Casas tore his patellar tendon.
Devers outright refused to switch positions after losing third base to offseason signing Alex Bregman, but also interpreted Campbell’s offer as a slight to his own stature.
Kristian Campbell was the first of the Red Sox top prospect trio to reach the majors. He’s now headed back to the minors. (Photo by Rob Tringali/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
(Rob Tringali via Getty Images)
Campbell was one of three highly anticipated prospects Boston was expecting this season, alongside outfielder Roman Anthony and shortstop/third baseman Marcelo Mayer. All three players ranked in the top 15 of Baseball America’s top prospects list, but it was only Campbell who broke camp with the big-league club.
As a prospect, the 22-year-old Campbell presented a well-rounded offensive approach combined with defensive versatility. He was an unheralded talent in the 2023 MLB Draft, with the Red Sox landing him in the fourth round, but he broke out majorly in 2024, earning Baseball America’s Minor League Player of the Year Award after hitting .330/.439/.558 between High-A, Double-A and Triple-A.
For about a month, Campbell delivered on the hype. He finished April hitting .301/.407/.495 and was a major Rookie of the Year candidate, but then fell off massively. He has hit .159/.243/.222 since the calendar turned to May, with only one base hit in the past week.
While Campbell was scuffling, the Red Sox called up Anthony and Mayer. They had the trio together for a little more than a week, but will now send down Campbell to work on his offensive approach and perhaps get his confidence back up.
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