Red Sox
Campbell, 22, hit his first home run of spring training on Saturday.
Kristian Campbell seems poised to win the Red Sox’ starting second baseman job.
Boston appears ready to have him make his MLB debut on Opening Day against the Rangers in Texas next week, according to a report.
“The presumption around Red Sox camp is that he will be their second basemen [sic],” ESPN’s Buster Olney shared on X on Saturday.
Campbell, 22, has been competing with David Hamilton and Marcelo Mayer for second base this spring. Vaughn Grissom was also in the mix until he was optioned to Triple-A Worcester earlier this week.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora said on Friday that the club “has a pretty good idea” of who will win the starting 2B job.
While reports indicate Campbell’s upcoming promotion to the big leagues, he hasn’t been informed if he will be on the Opening Day roster yet, MassLive’s Chris Cotillo reported after Saturday’s game.
Campbell is only batting .174 with a .587 OPS during spring training, but he’s seemed to emerge as Boston’s pick for the role in recent days. He hit his first home run of the spring on Saturday, finally showing off the power he displayed in the minor leagues last year.
Campbell, the No. 7 ranked prospect in baseball by MLB Pipeline, also made an impressive grab at second base on Saturday. He caught a line drive by diving to his left and held on to the ball as he crashed into the infield dirt.
Second base has statistically been Campbell’s primary position since being drafted by Boston in 2023 (51…
