Red Sox $60 Million Rookie Nearing Second Chance After Slump, Demotion

Worcester’s Kristian Campbell watches his two-run home run in the fifth inning against Lehigh Valley July 29 at Polar Park. Rick Cinclair/Telegram & Gazette / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Kristian Campbell got humbled after his meteoric rise to the big leagues.

Once a fourth-round draft pick for the Boston Red Sox in 2023, Campbell shot through the minors in 2024, earned a spot on the Opening Day roster this year, and won Rookie of the Month for the American League in April. He also earned an eight-year, $60 million extension to stay with the ballclub past his scheduled free agency.

But after an awful May and June, Campbell found himself demoted back to Triple-A Worcester, where he's now been for almost six weeks. His struggles continued there at first, but he's now completely flipped them around.

With his home run on Tuesday night against the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, Campbell now sports an OPS of .836 since he was optioned. The home run was his fourth, and he's totaled 10 hits in his last four games, including two long balls.

As he looks to re-establish himself as a candidate for the major league roster, Campbell recognizes that he needed some time to recoup in Triple-A after his rough go in Boston.

“I’m a pretty positive person,“ said Campbell, per Christopher Smith of MassLive. ”I knew I had some stuff to work on and it’s just part of the process. I wasn’t the first person to ever get optioned. I’m not the last person to ever get optioned, either. It happens. It’s part of baseball. It’s a part of learning. It’s part of growing as a player and progress isn’t a straight line all the time. Sometimes you gotta go down and go back up.”

But past experience has also taught Campbell that he can come out of any struggles on the other side.

“It kind of reminds me of me going into college for the first time from high school. I struggled there,” Campbell said, per Smith. “I got redshirted. And the next year I was just fine.”

Keep an eye on the fact that Campbell has played 16 games at first base since he was optioned, compared to eight at second base and none in the outfield. The Red Sox seem to be sending a message about where he'll play if and when he's called up.

Campbell is only 23 and still projects to be a huge part of the Red Sox's future. But the more he hits, the more it looks like that future will resume in the big leagues sometime within the next few weeks.