SerpApi.Org
Kristian Campbell was meant to be the future, and he arrived to the Boston Red Sox last season earlier than Roman Anthony or Marcelo Mayer.
A year-and-a-half later, though, Campbell is looking at an uphill climb to return to the major leagues.
The former top prospect is grinding at Triple-A Worcester, emphasis on the grind of it all.
Baseball is hard. Hitting is hard. And Campbell is in the midst of that right now.
The Red Sox won't be giving up on him anytime soon. They gave him an eight-year, $60 million contract at the start of the 2025 season.
But it won't just be a simple fix. Campbell's return to MLB will come with some serious hard work.
Through July 20 at Worcester this season, Campbell is hitting .220 with a .644 OPS. Those numbers are even a tad lower than he had at the MLB last season before being sent back down.
They're also nothing like he had hit previously in the minor leagues, when he had an OPS of at least .799 (and often much higher) on every rung of the ladder moving up toward the big leagues.
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This year's Campbell has two home runs and 12 doubles through 74 games. Even his steals total, just four in five attempts, is down.
The Red Sox have given him time around the infield and outfield. They've also realized this deep into the 2026 season that they can have patience with Campbell. He may not be able to help this season, but there's a lot of career left for Campbell.
He just turned 24 years old in June, and Boston would love nothing more than for Campbell to slowly work his way back into form and return to the major leagues. It'd be an emotional day if Campbell can indeed make it back.
Right now, the slump is real. It has the potential to make a Campbell comeback all the more impressive.
