Article: Is Kristian Campbell The Answer To The Red Sox's First Base Problem?

[Alex Mayes]

Although Kristian Campbell has had a few days off in a row, there’s reason to believe that he could solve the biggest hole in the infield at the moment. Starting with the game Friday against the Braves, Campbell was practicing infield drills at first base. 

When asked about it, Campbell said, “Whatever makes the team better, that’s the position I’ll play. I’m used to second base, because I played that in college. But whatever makes the team at the time.” That’s the kind of attitude you want from your hopeful future All-Star who is under contract for the next eight years.

Campbell is a gifted athlete. He’s started at second base, center field, and left field this season. It would likely behoove the Red Sox to pick a position for him to stay at, though. He's mired in a tough May slump — he's slashing .085/.104/.149 with a 31% strikeout rate this month — and, like most young players, would likely benefit from the stability of focusing on a sole defensive spot. Why not the position that is currently a black hole?

Triston Casas won’t be back until sometime next season, and it's not like he was lighting the world on fire when he was healthy this year. Romy Gonzalez is taking longer to recover from his thigh contusion than anticipated, Abraham Toro looks overmatched against big league pitching, and Nick Sogard seems incredibly uncomfortable at first this season. Yes, Campbell will likely experience some growing pains if and when he switches, but he’s young and talented. He overcame most of his issues at second base fairly quickly, so there’s no reason to believe he won’t adjust to first base on the fly. Alex Cora has said that, as of now, Campbell won’t see game action at first unless the team is up by 15 or down by 10, but it looks like the possibility of a position switch is something the team is taking seriously. 

Outside of solving the general conundrum of who will man the cold corner, the biggest boost the team would receive from moving Campbell to first would be the fact that it would open the door for top prospect Marcelo Mayer to break into the big leagues.

Mayer is a natural shortstop, a position that desperately needs to be upgraded, but he’s recently been starting games at second base for Worcester. His offense hasn’t taken a significant downturn with the position change, and his defense has still been great. Moving Campbell to first base means Mayer gets to bring one of the hottest bats in the minor leagues to the big league club. There’s an argument to be made to bring Mayer up to play shortstop, move Trevor Story to second, and have Campbell man first as well. Story played well at second during his first season in Boston (when Xander Bogaerts was still with the team), and the position (which is less physically demanding) would likely keep him healthier throughout a long season, but thus far, Cora seems dead set on having Story continue to play shortstop. 

It’s possible that moving Campbell to first won’t work, though it’s unlikely to be a worse experiment than whatever else the team is currently throwing at the wall. Campbell is willing to do whatever the team needs for him to do, and that’s an early sign of leadership. Getting him more work before games, and then hopefully in game situations where the Red Sox are up by a lot, only helps to expedite the call-up of Mayer. That will provide another youth injection into the team and finally, hopefully, solidify first base for future seasons.

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[Dale]

At this point, it’s probably the team’s best shot. They’ve already rotated 3 or 4 players through first without finding anyone solid. Cora said they are moving physically cautiously with Campbell, which translates to slowly, and gives Flores time to evaluate. Try it and see how things work out. 

[TheSplinteredSplendor]

Not if he continues to slash .190/.266/.302 as he has in his last 30 games.

[Bellhorn04]

1 minute ago, TheSplinteredSplendor said:

Not if he continues to slash .190/.266/.302 as he has in his last 30 games.

Thanks again, Captain Obvious.

[TedYazPapiMookie]

Campbell eventually will learn 1B and his skills are good enough to play him there but there are better alternatives:

1 - Go get a real 1B

2 - Put Mayer there because he's more of a prototypical 1B than Campbell.  Corner infield is a power position and Mayer has more power than Campbell.  He's not as good at hitting or fielding but he does have more power.  Hopefully, his issues with injures won't continue into the future.

3 - Put Anthony there because he's a power hitter as well and the team is deepest in the outfield.  At 1B Anthony like both Mayer and Campbell, should be able to learn the position quickly and develop sharper skills in future years.

4 - Use Campbell despite him being the best SS in the organization.  He has handled the change to 2B for Story's sake quite well but his natural position is SS.  If Boston hadn't already invested 2 years of Mayer at SS when Campbell was drafted, Campbell would be the heir apparent to SS.  What doesn't make sense is why have Campbell play SS and 2B in 2024 in case Story gets hurt and then change things up and have him now learn 1B which then forces Mayer to learn 2B.  That is a lot more re-positioning to pursue when the obvious better choice is just Mayer learning a new potition or just Anthony learn a new position.  Both guys are power hitters more so than Campbell.

Any of the choices other than #1 make very little sense.  Let Mayer stay in the minors until his defense improves and have Anthony join the outfield and use Abreu to get more pitching.

[mvp 78]

39 minutes ago, Dale said:

At this point, it’s probably the team’s best shot. They’ve already rotated 3 or 4 players through first without finding anyone solid. Cora said they are moving physically cautiously with Campbell, which translates to slowly, and gives Flores time to evaluate. Try it and see how things work out. 

Welcome to TalkSox! 

[mvp 78]

7 minutes ago, TedYazPapiMookie said:

Campbell eventually will learn 1B and his skills are good enough to play him there but there are better alternatives:

1 - Go get a real 1B

2 - Put Mayer there because he's more of a prototypical 1B than Campbell.  Corner infield is a power position and Mayer has more power than Campbell.  He's not as good at hitting or fielding but he does have more power.  Hopefully, his issues with injures won't continue into the future.

3 - Put Anthony there because he's a power hitter as well and the team is deepest in the outfield.  At 1B Anthony like both Mayer and Campbell, should be able to learn the position quickly and develop sharper skills in future years.

4 - Use Campbell despite him being the best SS in the organization.  He has handled the change to 2B for Story's sake quite well but his natural position is SS.  If Boston hadn't already invested 2 years of Mayer at SS when Campbell was drafted, Campbell would be the heir apparent to SS.  What doesn't make sense is why have Campbell play SS and 2B in 2024 in case Story gets hurt and then change things up and have him now learn 1B which then forces Mayer to learn 2B.  That is a lot more re-positioning to pursue when the obvious better choice is just Mayer learning a new potition or just Anthony learn a new position.  Both guys are power hitters more so than Campbell.

Any of the choices other than #1 make very little sense.  Let Mayer stay in the minors until his defense improves and have Anthony join the outfield and use Abreu to get more pitching.

Options 2 and 3 are really bad. You also don't have much of a clue about Mayer's fielding or Campbell's power potential I guess. 

[Hugh2]

We know the Sox value continuity, they don't want to make a guy learn a new position and learn how to be a big leaguer at the same time. 

They most certainly would not do that at the same time a kid who is not even 2 months into his mlb career is struggling and trying to figure out how to make adjustments.  They want him to work through this, they obviously have a lot of faith in him evidence by the contract extension they gave him.  They're not going to eff that up by moving him to 1B.   And they shouldn't. 

Mayer is one of baseballs top prospects projected to be an above average ss for years to come.  Any talk about moving him there (and breaking him into the majors) is also just not going to happen. 

I suppose these things could happen, it's not 100% out of the realm of possibility, but it's highly unlikely. 

Unfortunately if Devers does not want to move, you're going to have to go out and find someone to plug the hole. 

Sox should kick the tires with Baltimore on Ryan O'Hearn

 

 

[Hugh2]

Not that I agree with any of this BUT IF the Sox moved Campbell to 1B, you got to move Story to 2nd and call up Mayer to play SS. 

They have to find a way to get Anthony on the roster as well. 

Roman is at 283 at bats, which is past the 250 threshold they like guys to have before promoting him, and if you look at other #1 prospects on the hitting side, very very few of them have spent more than this amount of time in AAA.  He's also slashing a .322/.450/.520

Sox can't let them marinate in AAA all year and have rookie eligibility next year.  At this point it's almost certainly going to be a free year of control with them if you call em up. 

[Hugh2]

58 minutes ago, Dale said:

At this point, it’s probably the team’s best shot. They’ve already rotated 3 or 4 players through first without finding anyone solid. Cora said they are moving physically cautiously with Campbell, which translates to slowly, and gives Flores time to evaluate. Try it and see how things work out. 

Well it was really just Romney/Toro until they had to call up Sogard due to injury.  So 3, maybe 2.5

 

This is why they signed Toro.  To be the bandaid until they figure it out.  So we might be living with that 1B platoon until a trade is made. 

[mvp 78]

6 minutes ago, Hugh2 said:

Not that I agree with any of this BUT IF the Sox moved Campbell to 1B, you got to move Story to 2nd and call up Mayer to play SS. 

They have to find a way to get Anthony on the roster as well. 

Roman is at 283 at bats, which is past the 250 threshold they like guys to have before promoting him, and if you look at other #1 prospects on the hitting side, very very few of them have spent more than this amount of time in AAA.  He's also slashing a .322/.450/.520

Sox can't let them marinate in AAA all year and have rookie eligibility next year.  At this point it's almost certainly going to be a free year of control with them if you call em up. 

Roman is ready, I'm not sure Marcelo is quite there yet. His glove is.

[Hugh2]

1 minute ago, mvp 78 said:

Roman is ready, I'm not sure Marcelo is quite there yet. His glove is.

If only those two dudes could switch positions. 

[Brock Beauchamp]

1 hour ago, Dale said:

At this point, it’s probably the team’s best shot. They’ve already rotated 3 or 4 players through first without finding anyone solid. Cora said they are moving physically cautiously with Campbell, which translates to slowly, and gives Flores time to evaluate. Try it and see how things work out. 

Welcome to Talk Sox!

[Maxbialystock]

2 hours ago, TheSplinteredSplendor said:

Not if he continues to slash .190/.266/.302 as he has in his last 30 games.

A fair point.  

However, the title of article is wrong because Casas was having a horrible season when he was injured.  His DWAR after just 28 games was -0.6, and his OPS was .580.    Seriously, how hard can it be to replace those numbers?  

That said, the point about Mayer is a good one.  If Campbell can handle 1B, then Mayer can move into 2b or even SS with Story moving to 2b.  

On the other hand, Breslow's fix was to move Raffy from DH to 1B with the obvious intent to allow Yoshida and his $105M contract to be the DH.  So far the evidence is that Devers is flourishing as the DH as Ortiz and JDM did before him.  

2 hours ago, Hugh2 said:

Well it was really just Romney/Toro until they had to call up Sogard due to injury.  So 3, maybe 2.5

 

This is why they signed Toro.  To be the bandaid until they figure it out.  So we might be living with that 1B platoon until a trade is made. 

What bandaid?  Almost anyone could replace the 2025 Casas, he of the -0.6 DWAR and .580 OPS.  Gonzalez, if he can ever come off the IL, would be an improvement over Casas.  

 

[Hugh2]

27 minutes ago, Maxbialystock said:

A fair point.  

However, the title of article is wrong because Casas was having a horrible season when he was injured.  His DWAR after just 28 games was -0.6, and his OPS was .580.    Seriously, how hard can it be to replace those numbers?  

That said, the point about Mayer is a good one.  If Campbell can handle 1B, then Mayer can move into 2b or even SS with Story moving to 2b.  

On the other hand, Breslow's fix was to move Raffy from DH to 1B with the obvious intent to allow Yoshida and his $105M contract to be the DH.  So far the evidence is that Devers is flourishing as the DH as Ortiz and JDM did before him.  

What bandaid?  Almost anyone could replace the 2025 Casas, he of the -0.6 DWAR and .580 OPS.  Gonzalez, if he can ever come off the IL, would be an improvement over Casas.  

 

Semantics man, come on.  Casas was the starting 1B, he got off to a slow start. 

We could talk all day about what he was, could be, should be, won't be etc etc but the fact is he WAS the starting 1B and Toro was your AAA depth. 

[Old Red]

2 hours ago, Hugh2 said:

Well it was really just Romney/Toro until they had to call up Sogard due to injury.  So 3, maybe 2.5

 

This is why they signed Toro.  To be the bandaid until they figure it out.  So we might be living with that 1B platoon until a trade is made. 

Even if KC is moved to 1B I don’t think it’s a guarantee that Mayer gets called up. The Red Sox May go with DHam at 2B for a while, and see what happens. They may think DHam is a better option in the lineup than Toro, or Sogard. Bringing Mayer up to play 2B with Campbell at 1B having 2 rookies playing out of position might not be as good of an option as most on here think. One of the Woo’s broadcasters was voicing that opinion this morning, and he’s seen everyone mentioned play.

[Maxbialystock]

2 minutes ago, Hugh2 said:

Semantics man, come on.  Casas was the starting 1B, he got off to a slow start. 

We could talk all day about what he was, could be, should be, won't be etc etc but the fact is he WAS the starting 1B and Toro was your AAA depth. 

Agree completely he was off to a slow start.  But the topic is replacing exactly that player, the one who was off to a slow start and had a negative WAR.   Did you know he missed 5 games in April?  

TTwo years ago with Casas having an excellent rookie season (132 games, OPS .856), the Sox were 11th in runs scored.  Last year they were 9th when Casas played just 63 games.   And this year they are tied for 6th with Casas playing just 29 of 50 games.  Would I like to see the 2023 Casas starting at 1B?  You bet I would.  But right now I don't think he is badly missed.  

Meanwhile, the Sox team ERA is ranked 17th in MLB, which is why the Sox are just 25-25.    

I honestly think Casas' absence is an opportunity to move someone to 1b and thereby make it possible to bring up Mayer and/or Anthony.  I'm glad Devers was not moved because as the DH he looks like he is headed for his best ever season at the plate.   

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

51 minutes ago, Maxbialystock said:

On the other hand, Breslow's fix was to move Raffy from DH to 1B with the obvious intent to allow Yoshida and his $105M contract to be the DH.  So far the evidence is that Devers is flourishing as the DH as Ortiz and JDM did before him.  

I know you're convinced it was all about Yoshida, but unless you have evidence, I'm not.

The front office may be looking for any way to get Anthony into the batting order without making a trade. Devers to 1B, Anthony to DH (then eventually some OF, and some other guys to DH) makes more sense. 

There has been absolutely zero hints that Masa and his bum shoulder will be ready for Boston soon. They won't even let him DH in the minors. Meanwhile, an update on prospects on MLB.com today says at this point, Anthony is just wasting his time in Triple A.

[notin]

3 hours ago, Hugh2 said:

We know the Sox value continuity, they don't want to make a guy learn a new position and learn how to be a big leaguer at the same time. 

They most certainly would not do that at the same time a kid who is not even 2 months into his mlb career is struggling and trying to figure out how to make adjustments.  They want him to work through this, they obviously have a lot of faith in him evidence by the contract extension they gave him.  They're not going to eff that up by moving him to 1B.   And they shouldn't. 

Mayer is one of baseballs top prospects projected to be an above average ss for years to come.  Any talk about moving him there (and breaking him into the majors) is also just not going to happen. 

I suppose these things could happen, it's not 100% out of the realm of possibility, but it's highly unlikely. 

Unfortunately if Devers does not want to move, you're going to have to go out and find someone to plug the hole. 

Sox should kick the tires with Baltimore on Ryan O'Hearn

 

 

Or 4’11” Andrew Vaughn.  White Sox know they’re going nowhere and fire sales are inevitable.  Many felt they wouldn’t even tender Vaughn arbitration.  His $5.85 mill contract and his 48 OPS+ certainly make him available, and possibly available NOW,  but his StatCast page actually isn’t that bad.

 

https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/savant-player/andrew-vaughn-683734?stats=statcast-r-hitting-mlb

 

BTV gives him a surplus value of -$4.2mill, suggesting he could be available for next to nothing as a salary dump…

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

15 minutes ago, notin said:

https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/savant-player/andrew-vaughn-683734?stats=statcast-r-hitting-mlb

BTV gives him a surplus value of -$4.2mill, suggesting he could be available for next to nothing as a salary dump…

Next to nothing? What if No Vaughn was next to a fire hydrant -- would he be tall enough then?

Or how about a cactus (not a saguaro, but one of those little purple ones in a porcelain cup on the windowsill).

[Hugh2]

26 minutes ago, notin said:

Or 4’11” Andrew Vaughn.  White Sox know they’re going nowhere and fire sales are inevitable.  Many felt they wouldn’t even tender Vaughn arbitration.  His $5.85 mill contract and his 48 OPS+ certainly make him available, and possibly available NOW,  but his StatCast page actually isn’t that bad.

 

https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/savant-player/andrew-vaughn-683734?stats=statcast-r-hitting-mlb

 

BTV gives him a surplus value of -$4.2mill, suggesting he could be available for next to nothing as a salary dump…

I'd rather stick with Toro

[Maxbialystock]

9 minutes ago, Old Red said:

Even if KC is moved to 1B I don’t think it’s a guarantee that Mayer gets called up. The Red Sox May go with DHam at 2B for a while, and see what happens. They may think DHam is a better option in the lineup than Toro, or Sogard. Bringing Mayer up to play 2B with Campbell at 1B having 2 rookies playing out of position might not be as good of an option as most on here think. One of the Woo’s broadcasters was voicing that opinion this morning, and he’s seen everyone mentioned play.

How about Mayer, who is almost certainly a better defensive SS than Story, to SS, Story to 2b, and Campbell to 1b?  Also, Campbell's DWAR at 2b so far is -0.6.  

I do like your comment on Hamilton at 2b.  In 22 games his DWAR is +0.3 and his OPS in May (12 games) is .871.  

[notin]

39 minutes ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

Next to nothing? What if No Vaughn was next to a fire hydrant -- would he be tall enough then?

Or how about a cactus (not a saguaro, but one of those little purple ones in a porcelain cup on the windowsill).

Yes on both counts…

[notin]

10 minutes ago, Maxbialystock said:

How about Mayer, who is almost certainly a better defensive SS than Story, to SS, Story to 2b, and Campbell to 1b?  Also, Campbell's DWAR at 2b so far is -0.6.  

I do like your comment on Hamilton at 2b.  In 22 games his DWAR is +0.3 and his OPS in May (12 games) is .871.  

I assumed it was Marcelo.  But it does open the door for Hamilton…

[notin]

32 minutes ago, Hugh2 said:

I'd rather stick with Toro

Borderline major leaguers are never the answer.  Why not just bring back Dalbec?

[drewski6]

37 minutes ago, Hugh2 said:

I'd rather stick with Toro

And miss an opportunity to bear witness to the incredibly shrinking man? Also, I had Andrew Vaughn on my MLB the show 23 franchise and he was a very solid platoon guy

[drewski6]

5 minutes ago, notin said:

Borderline major leaguers are never the answer.  Why not just bring back Dalbec?

"do you not know what happens when you say someone's name around here?"

-Kevin Owens

[Charlie Hoke]

How about giving Rob Refsnyder time at 1st base? He played there last in 2020 and his splits this year are more even than in the past. He seems a bit better than Sogard right now.

[moonslav59]

21 minutes ago, Charlie Hoke said:

How about giving Rob Refsnyder time at 1st base? He played there last in 2020 and his splits this year are more even than in the past. He seems a bit better than Sogard right now.

That idea was thoroughly debunked, line by line.

🤪

[Maxbialystock]

53 minutes ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

I know you're convinced it was all about Yoshida, but unless you have evidence, I'm not.

The front office may be looking for any way to get Anthony into the batting order without making a trade. Devers to 1B, Anthony to DH (then eventually some OF, and some other guys to DH) makes more sense. 

There has been absolutely zero hints that Masa and his bum shoulder will be ready for Boston soon. They won't even let him DH in the minors. Meanwhile, an update on prospects on MLB.com today says at this point, Anthony is just wasting his time in Triple A.

Boy, do I hope I am wrong and you are dead right about Yoshida.  But I just as vehemently think Devers to 1b right now risks what looks to be his best hitting season ever.  Think Ortiz and JDM.  

Why not Anthony at 1b?  He's 6'3", not especially fast in the outifield, where he does take bad routes now and then, plus he doesn't have that good an arm.