The Boston Red Sox have made their decision on which players to call up for their roster expansion, and infielder Kristian Campbell is not one of them.
Campbell, who signed an eight-year contract worth $60 million on April 2, will now likely spend the remainder of the season at Triple-A Worcester.
“Kristian Campbell will not be promoted by the Red Sox as a Sept. 1 call-up, according to two sources,” Mass Live reporter Christopher Smith wrote on X. “That doesn’t mean he won’t be promoted at some point in September as one of the extra two on the roster but not right now.”
Campbell was demoted to Triple-A in June in hopes of using it as a learning experience to turn his season around. He’s slashed .265/.382/.412 this season for Worcester with seven home runs and 30 RBI. However, he’s hitting just .176 over his last 30 games.
Red Sox fans have every right to be concerned about Campbell. The organization didn’t sign him to a long-term deal so he could hit under .200 in Triple-A over his last 30 games. Boston knows he has the talent, but it’s yet to show up on a consistent basis.
As Smith points out, the organization isn’t ruling it out completely for him to be called up. However, that only seems likely if someone is unexpectedly placed on the injured list.
It’s hard to envision Campbell even stepping into this Red Sox starting lineup with Cedanne Rafaela at second base and Trevor Story at shortstop. He may need to wait until the offseason in hopes of the organization trading either Jarren Duran or Wilyer Abreu and moving Rafaela back to the outfield. It’s an uphill battle for the 23-year-old to get back to the big leagues and not being called up for September is making the climb even steeper.
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