The Boston Red Sox needed to promote an outfielder to their roster on Sunday.
They chose to place Ceddanne Rafaela, their starting centerfielder, on the injured list. He needed to be replaced.
The Red Sox went with Nate Eaton, and that brought about a natural question: What about Kristian Campbell?
But no, Campbell remains at Triple-A Worcester for the final days of the season there. Eaton comes up instead.
Campbell, the former top prospect, remains a tantalizing idea for Red Sox fans. But at least in this moment, when Boston had a chance to bring Campbell back to the majors, they went with a different guy instead.
Why Didn’t Red Sox Call Up Kristian Campbell?
Red Sox manager Chad Tracy was asked this very question by reporters on Sunday, and he had an answer.
This is how The Athletic’s Jen McCaffrey summed up what Tracy had to say:
“Tracy said they called Eaton because he’s the best defensive outfield option. Said he’s been impressed with Campbell but didn’t want to call him up for a bench role and disrupt his regular at bats and rhythm in Worcester.”
That’s certainly how a manager would want to explain it, whether it was the full reasoning or not.
There is at least some logic to it, because teams do try to avoid having their true prospect-type players sit on the bench in the major leagues when they can get everyday action in the minor leagues.
Of course, Rafaela was a starter, and so if the Red Sox had wanted to call up Campbell and shuffle around the starting lineup, they probably could’ve done that.
That’s not the move Boston went for, though, and so it means Campbell will continue to try to prove he still has a bright future despite being passed over for this potential promotion.
Kristian Campbell Triple-A Stats
Campbell has spent the entire season at Triple-A Worcester, and entering Sunday, he’s played 107 games at that level.
He’s batting .253 with a .757 OPS that includes 21 doubles and eight home runs. He is 8-of-9 stealing bases.
Those numbers were worse earlier in the season, as a mid-summer hot streak really got Campbell back in the conversation again.
It’s been an odd path for Campbell, who was the first of the trio with Roman Anthony and Marcelo Mayer to make the majors. He was Boston’s Opening Day second baseman in 2025. But he struggled, was sent down, and hasn’t come back.
Campbell made tweaks to his swing and also has spent time learning the outfield. Boston certainly hopes it works out in the long run, because they had already signed him to a contract extension at the start of the 2025 season.
At least for now, it appears Campbell’s impact on the 2026 MLB season will be minimal, if any. But maybe that’s because the Red Sox are still hoping he can do more for them in the long-term future.
Why Red Sox Didn’t Call Up Kristian Campbell To Replace Injured Ceddanne Rafaela