Roman Anthony has had a dream start to his Boston Red Sox career. He’s performed to the level many expected and signed a huge contract to stay with the team for the foreseeable future.
Kristian Campbell’s major league career hasn’t gone quite as well. He also signed a long-term extension, but after a hot start, Campbell went ice cold before being sent down to Triple-A Worcester.
Campbell’s been working on finding his swing in Worcester, as well as playing first base. It’s been a work in progress, but he’s started to turn it around. He’s currently riding a 15-game hitting streak, the longest in Worcester Red Sox history. He’s also reportedly improving at his new position.
With Anthony signing an extension, questions swirled about whether the Red Sox regretted signing Campbell to an early deal. Red Sox Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow still believes in the prospect.
“We still are incredibly confident in the contribution that [Campbell] is going to make to this organization over the next nine or 10 years,” Breslow said. “And I think we can start to see him getting back into the form that we recognize and have come to appreciate over the last two or three weeks or so in Worcester. So still very, very confident in what he’s going to bring to this team.”
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Alex Cora’s review wasn’t as glowing, but the Red Sox manager has seen improvement and wants to give Campbell time.
“He’s gotten better. The numbers show that. But there’s a few things under the hood that we still need to get better at,” Cora said.
With Marcelo Mayer injured, there could be an opening for Campbell to return to the big leagues at second base. First base seems like the more likely path going forward, though, and Romy Gonzalez and Abraham Toro have done a solid job at the position.
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