Kristian Campbell's Red Sox Future Becoming Clear In Puerto Rico

Kristian Campbell's standing with the Boston Red Sox organization is much different than it was a year ago.

Last season, Campbell won various Player of the Year awards in the minors and established himself as a contender to take the opening day second base job, which he eventually won. But after winning Rookie of the Month in April, Campbell's struggles got so bad that he wound up demoted to Triple-A for the final 3 1/2 months of the season.

Though offensive slumps are no fun, Campbell's defense at second base was arguably the biggest concern, as he put up negative-16 defensive runs saved in only 59 games. Even with a prominent need at the position, it didn't seem possible Campbell would win back the second-base job moving forward.

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Kristian Campbell's future is in outfield

During a critical offseason for his development, Campbell has been playing winter ball in Puerto Rico. His Criollos de Caguas team is managed by Red Sox bench coach Ramón Vázquez, and manager Alex Cora is closeby as well, having eaten dinner with him when he first got to town.

“He’s in a great place,” Cora said, per Chris Cotillo of MassLive. “He opened up about the season, which it was really, really good, from my standpoint -- the ups and downs, the expectations, the contract, Triple-A, the big leagues, the adjustments.”

The Red Sox also appear to have tipped their hand in terms of Campbell's long-term defensive home. On Wednesday, he played his first game in left field for Criollos after eight as the designated hitter, and Cora seemed to acknowledge that moving forward, the 23-year-old will stay on the grass.

“I think there is ultimately some versatility that he can provide, though we’ve also talked about trying to narrow that a little bit and just giving him some stability and consistency day-to-day so he didn’t have to take on the uncertainty of where he’d be playing defensively alongside trying to acclimate to big league pitching,” Cora said, per Cotillo.

Campbell is an excellent athlete, but didn't display the quick hands and footwork required to stick as a middle infielder in the big leagues. But as Red Sox fans well know, Boston has four starting-caliber outfielders on the roster right now.

Someone is likely going to have to be traded for Campbell to earn significant playing time this season, and right now, he might be looking at a Rob Refsnyder-like platoon role at best.

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