Kristian Campbell has been one of the biggest surprises in the first few weeks of the Boston Red Sox's 2025 season.
Boston promoted its top prospect to the big league roster despite a rough spring training performance on both sides of the ball. But, as we well know, spring training stats don't matter, and Campbell has batted .351/.457/.622 with a 1.079 OPS and two homers in his first 11 games in the majors.
Campbell's defense hasn't been perfect, though. He's made two errors at second base since his debut, including one on April 8 that resulted in a run. Granted, it was the third-coldest temperature ever recorded during a game at Fenway Park since records began, but routine throws to first base still need to be made.
The night after Campbell's error and Boston's 6-1 loss to the Blue Jays, Campbell will start in center field to give Ceddanne Rafaela the night off. Campbell switched between the infield and outfield during his short, two-year tenure in the Sox's minor league system, but their decision to continue moving him around the diamond is curious.
Tonight's lineup ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/lRKINkNZ5g
— Red Sox (@RedSox) April 9, 2025
Last season, the Red Sox moved Rafaela between shortstop and center field due to Trevor Story's long surgery recovery time and the inconsistent play of their other infielders. Rafaela is a defensive savant in the outfield and pretty slick at shortstop, but the Red Sox are under the impression that the constant moves hampered his development (subscription required.)
"I'm not sure we saw the best of him even defensively because of the fact that he was switching back and forth between center and shortstop," chief baseball officer Craig Breslow said this offseason. "And so I think he's a guy that we will try to keep in center as much as possible."
Red Sox keep playing Kristian Campbell in outfield despite frequent position changes hindering Ceddanne Rafaela last year
The Red Sox haven't applied that same logic to Campbell, despite reports from spring training that stated his infield defense is behind where it should be to be considered major league-ready. Second base has been Boston's most volatile position for years, and swapping Campbell between it and the outfield doesn't seem like the best way to remedy that issue, especially since the Red Sox have conceded that already with Rafaela.
One of the reasons Campbell is swapped so often is to get David Hamilton into games. He's one of the fastest players on the team and the Red Sox have adopted an aggressive strategy with their speed on the base paths. But he's only batting .071/.133/.071 with five strikeouts and one hit in six games and his defense isn't solid enough to outweigh his lower production.
The inconsistency in the Red Sox's lineups is puzzling. If frequent movement between the infield and outfield stifled Rafaela's development, what makes Campbell any different? They're around the same age, have similar abilities in terms of general athleticism and are at early stages in their development as MLB players. If Boston expects Campbell to stick at second base, by its own logic, they should play him there as much as possible.