Alex Cora Challenges Red Sox's Kristian Campbell: ‘You’ve Got to Play Better’

The Boston Red Sox made an unsurprising, but still important decision on Saturday morning.

Reports surfaced Saturday morning indicating that young utility man Kristian Campbell was optioned down to Triple-A. This decision shouldn't come as a massive surprise. The Red Sox have an outfield surplus and Boston has had Campbell operating primarily in the outfield. He had plenty of opportunities when guys left for the World Baseball Classic, but Boston already has a surplus of outfielders in Jarren Duran, Wilyer Abreu, Roman Anthony and Ceddanne Rafaela. That group doesn't even include Masataka Yoshida.

For Campbell, he will help Boston at some point. The Red Sox as a team are lefty-heavy. Campbell, when he is at his best, can provide much-needed right-handed balance. But there wasn't a clear pathway to outfield playing time and he didn't force the issue with an explosive Spring Training. He slashed .220/.304/.341 in 18 games while striking out 11 times and walking just twice. He added one homer and four RBIs. Boston made the decision to send him down and Red Sox manager Alex Cora opened up afterward, as transcribed by MassLive.com's Chris Cotillo.

The Red Sox sent Kristian Campbell down

Feb 17, 2026; Lee County, FL, USA; Boston Red Sox second baseman Kristian Campbell (28) poses for a photo during media day at JetBlue Park. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images | Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

"You’ve got to get back to the big leagues. You’ve got to play better” Cora said, as transcribed by Cotillo. “There’s a few things he did in camp, and (some) he didn’t do in camp. In camp, he didn’t walk as often and he struck out a lot. That’s not him. We just have to keep working together. But at the end, he said it: ‘It’s up to me to get back here.'

Cora acknowledged that Campbell needs to improve his offense if he wants to get back to the majors in the short term.

“We have to get the offense going,” Cora said, as transcribed by Cotillo. “There were some things we felt comfortable with during camp. I’m not concerned, but the strikeouts were going up and the walks going down, and that’s not him. He’s a guy who controls the strike zone and doesn’t swing and miss. That didn’t happen during camp. ... He’ll be fine, but you’ve got to go down there and show the people you’re the best athlete on the team and the best player on the team."

Campbell is going to be alright. Getting consistent playing time down in Triple-A is going to be far better for him than simply sitting on the bench in the majors. He needs to get his offense right and those consistent at-bats will hopefully be a step in that direction.

Again, one thing going for Campbell is the fact that Boston needs right-handed bats. If he can go down to Triple-A and tear it up, don' be shocked if he makes the jump back to Boston in 2026.