Ten days into his Major League career, Boston Red Sox rookie Kristian Campbell already has a new assignment: backup center fielder.
Just a few hours before Saturday’s scheduled first pitch, the Red Sox announced a lineup change, shifting Campbell from left field to center field so that Jarren Duran could remain in left. Manager Alex Cora said that despite never using that defensive alignment in spring training, he expects it to be the go-to lineup whenever Ceddanne Rafaela is on the bench and David Hamilton is at second base.
“I don’t know why during spring training we had this crazy idea of playing (Campbell) in left field when he played center last year,” Cora said.
When Campbell, 22, made the Opening Day roster, it was to serve as the Red Sox’s primary second baseman. That’s still his No. 1 job. But in spring training, Campbell also got regular reps in left field as another way to get his bat in the lineup. He also played left field in the third game of the regular season, and the plan was for him to play left field again on Saturday. But Cora said he began to rethink that decision Friday.
It is perhaps no coincidence that Cora’s change of heart came after seeing Duran play a ball perfectly off the Green Monster to nearly throw a runner out at second base during Friday’s home opener. Cora said he’s come to think of Duran as a potential Gold Glove winner in left field — he was worth 10 outs above average as an outfielder last season, getting most of his time in center — which led him also to think of Campbell differently. Campbell is a gifted athlete with speed who played 25 minor league games in center field last season, but he played no left field last year (though he did play some left field in rookie ball and college).
“I just thought about it yesterday after the game,” Cora said. “You start spending time in the office and chill and, like, what we’re we doing? You play center! Why are we trying to do this at one of the weirdest left fields in the game?”
Cora called Campbell, who said he was more comfortable in center than in left, and Cora made his decision.
“I’m like, shoot,” Cora said. “Could have solved this problem a month ago!”
Cora said the lineup from earlier is wrong, Campbell in center and Duran in left. Campbell will play once a week in CF to get Hamilton at 2B. Duran will be in left most home and road games Cora said. Had Campbell in LF in ST but realized he’s more comfortable in CF
But such is the rapid climb of Campbell, a fourth-round draft pick in 2023 who emerged last season as one of the top prospects in baseball and has rabidly changed the future of the Red Sox organization. The team was so sure of his offensive ability that Cora put him on the Opening Day roster despite having just 19 games of Triple-A experience and a .167 batting average in spring training. The Red Sox then signed Campbell to an eight-year, $60 million extension that includes club options for the 2033 and ’34 seasons.
“His ability to make adjustments is probably the defining characteristic talking to the (player development) staff,” chief baseball officer Craig Breslow said. “They talked incessantly about being able to just kind of tell him what the next step in his development would be and allow the athlete that he is to go out and make those adjustments.”
Campbell’s versatility does give the Red Sox options going forward, especially as the team anticipates top prospects Roman Anthony (an outfielder) and Marcelo Mayer (a middle infielder) joining the big league lineup, perhaps as early as this season. There is some mix-and-match potential with each of the “Big Three” prospects, as they’re called. The Red Sox could ultimately play Campbell at second, Mayer at shortstop and Anthony in center; or Mayer at second, Campbell in center and Anthony in right. There are many ways to make those pieces fit.
For now, Campbell’s versatility has more clearly defined Duran’s role. Coming off a breakout 2024 season in which he emerged as one of the game’s best leadoff hitters and showed significant defensive improvement, Duran opened this season as a left fielder who would occasionally play center. That he did not open as the primary center fielder was in part because of Rafaela’s defensive ability, and it made sense that Duran would shift back to center on days when Rafaela was on the bench. That’s how the Red Sox prepared all spring, with Duran semi-regular reps in center and Campbell getting some starts in left.
But Cora said on Saturday that Duran will be, essentially, an everyday left fielder going forward. That will be true at home and on the road.
Campbell, Cora said, likely will play center field once a week, primarily as a way to find at-bats for left-handed infielder Hamilton, whose speed, defense and offensive potential make him an interesting option against right-handed pitching.
“We’ve got to get Hammy in the lineup,” Cora said. “We have to. I think that’s the most important thing here. He is a good player. A good defender, a good offensive player and we have to keep him engaged.”
Cora could refer to Hamilton as “the most important thing” because the importance of Campbell went without saying. He was a crucial piece of the puzzle on Opening Day, and the Red Sox are already finding new ways to make the most of him.
