The Red Sox sent Kristian Campbell to Triple-A on Thursday after his bright MLB career began to take a turn for the worse in recent months, both on the field and at the plate.
The Red Sox, however, are still hopeful that Campbell, who started the season as one of baseball’s best prospects, would have a prosperous MLB career. But for the time being, Alex Cora and the team would prefer that he practice outside of the major leagues.
“To be honest with you, I think it’s a good time for him to reset,” Cora told reporters. Go down there and work on some things that we haven’t been doing here for the past few weeks. just to work on those both offensively and defensively and to accomplish it [in a less stressful setting]. Now is a good moment to do that.
The Red Sox’s gamble to start Kristian Campbell at second base to start the season seemed to have paid off by the end of April. By the end of the first month of the season, he was hitting.301 with a.902 OPS, four home runs, and 12 RBIs, earning him the title of AL Rookie of the Month for March/April. In the first week of the season, the Red Sox also managed to convince Campbell to sign an eight-year, $60 million contract deal, creating some anticipation about his future with the team.
But in May, the favorable rumors about Campbell faded. In 22 games that month, he hit.134 with a.355 OPS, four RBIs, and a home run. Despite a little improvement in June, his batting average (.205,.658 OPS, one home run, and five RBIs in 16 games) was still far below the league average.
Additionally, Campbell’s difficulties have not only occurred on the field. His minus-eight Outs Above Average is tied for the second-worst in MLB, while his seven errors are a club high.
In May and June, Campbell struggled, so the Red Sox shifted him around a little defensively. In recent weeks, he saw some action in left and center field. He also spent some time practicing his first base skills, telling reporters that he would be concentrating on learning the position while he is with Triple-A Worcester.
Although Cora respects Campbell’s readiness to pick up a new position, his main goal is to help the 22-year-old restore his swing confidence.
It will be crucial to be able to play the role, Cora stated. It goes without saying that we will eventually need to make some roster decisions. We will benefit from him playing first base. It’s fantastic that he will be able to play it.
However, I believe that what matters most to us is the offensive aspect. Going down there and hitting is not the point of this.500, to be honest. He may be striking.200 and he is fulfilling our requests, and we can see that he is heading in the correct direction, then he may be here.
Jason Ochart, the hitting director for the Red Sox, told Alex Speier of the Boston Globes what he believes is Campbell’s recent at-bat issues and the strategy being used to address them.
According to Ochart, being punctual would be a major component of his training. His point of contact has shifted back, and striking the ball deeply makes it difficult to succeed.
Campbell’s strikeout percentage (28.6%) is the 17th-worst in MLB since the beginning of May, according to Ochart.
Cora stated that although he was undoubtedly disappointed by the news, he probably understood what was happening and where Campbell was, given his ongoing struggles.
Cora remarked, “You could tell he was a little frustrated.” It was evident from his body language. He continued to play hard. However, it was evident that he was feeling a little depressed.
Now that Campbell is taking a break from the daily pressure of needing to produce in the major leagues, Cora and the Red Sox are hoping he will restore that confidence.
According to Cora, he is not the first person in his career to be optioned. Many talented players made the squad after spring training, were sent down, and returned to do their duties. He was working as hard as he could, which is what we expect of him.
However, I think that removing him from the spotlight and the third deck and going down there to work on a few things that we genuinely think will help him improve.
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