Kristian Campbell was the #2 prospect in the Boston Red Sox system at the beginning of the 2025 season. He regressed after hitting a hard slump in May that carried into June, becoming one of the worst hitters in baseball. A few days after the Roman Anthony call-up, Campbell was sent back down to AAA Worcester, where he's been since.
Ever since then, he's been trying to get back up to the major leagues by any means necessary. Now, he may finally get that chance again. Roman Anthony has an oblique injury, but it's worse than it was when he had the same injury about a year ago. While it's sad to see possibly see Roman on the IL, it gives a golden opportunity for Campbell to finally make things right and leave that slump behind him. No player gets just one chance; they get quite a few, and this is one of them.
Kristian Campbell May Get Excellent Opportunity to Prove His Worth to Red Sox
When Campbell is at his best, he's one of the best hitters in that lineup and is making him a serious candidate for Silver Slugger. It won't happen this year, but the next seven years will be ones to watch with him. Since the start of the season on March 27th, he was batting .301 with an OPS of .902, with four home runs, 12 RBIs, 31 hits, eight doubles in 103 at-bats, and in 29 games.
In AAA, he's batting .273, recording 59 hits with eight home runs, 36 RBIs, nine doubles, two triples, and 32 walks in 58 games (216 at-bats). In his last 36 games, he's been batting .319 with a slugging percentage of .529, with seven home runs and 14 extra-base hits in 159 plate appearances. On Tuesday, he almost hit for the cycle, missing only a single in his 3-4 performance.
If Campbell does get called up, they could put him in the outfield or move Rafaela back to center and put Campbell at second for the time being. They're also putting him at first base as well for him to learn the position, which he could most likely take on by 2026 or 2027, depending on what they want to do with Triston Casas.
No one knows for sure, as Roman is awaiting his MRI results. But if he goes to the IL, Craig Breslow should have Campbell's phone number on speed dial.