Kristian Campbell ‘presumed’ to be Purple Sox’ beginning 2B

Campbell, 22, hit his first house run of spring coaching on Saturday.

Kristian Campbell is barely batting .174 this spring, however the Purple Sox seem prepared to call him their 2025 beginning second baseman. Danielle Parhizkaran/Globe Workers

By Kaley Brown

March 23, 2025 | 12:02 AM

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Kristian Campbell appears poised to win the Purple Sox’ beginning second baseman job.

Boston seems able to have him make his MLB debut on Opening Day towards the Rangers in Texas subsequent week, based on a report.

“The presumption round Purple Sox camp is that he might 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 additionally within the combine till he was optioned to Triple-A Worcester earlier this week.

Purple Sox supervisor Alex Cora stated on Friday that the membership “has a fairly good concept” of who will win the beginning 2B job.

Whereas studies point out Campbell’s upcoming promotion to the large leagues, he hasn’t been knowledgeable if he might be on the Opening Day roster but, MassLive’s Chris Cotillo reported after Saturday’s sport.

Campbell is barely batting .174 with a .587 OPS throughout spring coaching, however he’s appeared to emerge as Boston’s decide for the position in latest days. He hit his first house run of the spring on Saturday, lastly exhibiting off the facility he displayed within the minor leagues final yr.

Campbell, the No. 7 ranked prospect in baseball by MLB Pipeline, additionally made a powerful seize 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 grime.

Second base has statistically been Campbell’s major place since being drafted by Boston in 2023 (51 video games at 2B in MiLB). Nonetheless, he’s additionally performed loads of shortstop (36) and middle subject (25) with some third base and left subject sprinkled in.

Campbell has performed spring coaching video games in left subject this yr, but it surely’s clear that the Purple Sox need him within the infield if he does make the Opening Day roster.

Boston’s infield coach Jose Flores spoke about Campbell’s development at 2B and his possibilities of profitable the beginning job.

“Clearly we didn’t get an opportunity to work quite a bit at second base final yr,” Flores stated, by way of MassLive’s Christopher Smith. “That is the primary time all through spring coaching that we get to get some work completed. However he’s come a protracted methods. He’s truly accepted the problem of attempting to get higher at that place and hopefully, have an opportunity making the large league membership.

“So I believe he’s come a protracted methods, particularly turning double performs, which is definitely one thing that he wasn’t used to being on his blind aspect. I believe he’s come a protracted methods and feels a hell of much more comfy doing that.”

If Campbell is certainly with the large league membership on March 27, it’ll cap off his year-long meteoric rise. He started final season at Single-A Greenville, the place he spent lower than three months earlier than being promoted to Double-A Portland.

Earlier than Campbell knew it, he made the leap to Triple-A Worcester, but once more lower than three months later. He appeared in 19 video games by the tip of the membership’s season.

Regardless of Campbell’s well-deserved speedy minor league ascension, spring coaching proved that there might be rising pains on the MLB stage, even with a top-ranked prospect like himself.

Nonetheless, becoming a member of an infield that might function Alex Bregman at third, Trevor Story at second, and Triston Casas at first ought to make for an thrilling Purple Sox baseball season.