Kristian Campbell’s Struggles Factored Into Red Sox Coaching Overhaul

With each passing day, more and more details have surfaced about the dynamics behind the scenes with the Boston Red Sox that led the housecleaning that shocked the baseball world.

Boston fired manager Alex Cora, hitting coach Peter Fatse, third base coach Kyle Hudson, bench coach Ramón Vázquez, assistant hitting coach Dillon Lawson and major league hitting strategy coach Joe Cronin. Jason Varitek isn't expected to return to Boston as well.

Most of the noise around the league has centered around Cora, which isn't a shock. He's a World Series-winning manager and was offered the Philadelphia Phillies job, but turned it down. But what about the other guys who were axed? It's no secret that the Red Sox's offense was brutal to kick off the season, so Fatse's firing actually shouldn't be much of a shock. When you enter a season with expectations to be among the best overall teams in baseball and the offense is among the worst, something has to be done.

Over the last few days, more and more nuggets of information have come out and it's clear that Fatse was a point of contention for chief baseball officer Craig Breslow. On Wednesday, The Athletic's Chad Jennings, Jen McCaffrey, Patrick Mooney and Ken Rosenthal shared a column about the Red Sox's overhaul. One thing that stood out was the fact that the insiders noted that there was a "disconnect" between Breslow and Fatse and that Boston's chief baseball officer "blamed" Fatse for Kristian Campbell's struggles in the majors last season, among other things.

More And More Details After Come Out After Boston's Overhaul

Mar 6, 2026; Lakeland, Florida, USA; Boston Red Sox outfielder Kristian Campbell (28) hits a two run home run during the first inning against the Detroit Tigers at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mike Watters-Imagn Images | Mike Watters-Imagn Images

"Multiple people also singled out Campbell’s major league struggles as a source of Breslow’s frustration with the hitting department," Jennings, McCaffrey, Mooney and Rosenthal wrote. "Campbell was 22 and among the most highly touted prospects in baseball when — after a year and a half in the minor leagues, and only 19 games in Triple A — the Red Sox made him their Opening Day second baseman in 2025, signing him shortly thereafter to an eight-year, $60 million extension. Campbell had struggled in spring training, but internal metrics said he nonetheless would be one of the best hitters on the team.

"Instead, Campbell failed to pull the ball — a weakness that had been discussed internally — and had a .664 OPS when the Red Sox optioned him back to the minor leagues in the middle of June. He hasn’t been back to the big leagues since, and there was a sense within the clubhouse that Breslow blamed Fatse for Campbell’s inability to live up to the projections."

There's no denying the fact that the front office believes in Campbell. If not, they wouldn't have given him an eight-year, $60 million extension early on in the 2025 season. But he did struggle in the majors and hasn't been back. Is that because of Fatse and the club's offensive theories in the big leagues? Transitioning to the majors is difficult, obviously. There's going to be growing pains. But the Red Sox also moved Campbell all around the field from second base, to the outfield, and even tried working him out at first base, although not in a big league game. That's a lot to throw at a young guy.

Right now, there isn't a path to playing time for Campbell in the majors without making some sort of change. But clearly, the club still believes in him.

With each passing day, more and more has come out about the firings. What's next?

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