MILWAUKEE -- Asked on May 20 where to rank Kristian Campbell on a scale of one to 10 when it came to his progress taking pregame reps at first base, Red Sox manager Alex Cora claimed the rookie infielder was “probably 2 1/2, 3.”
Campbell began working at the new position while attempting to help the club mitigate the loss of Triston Casas to a season-ending left knee injury. Just eight days later, Campbell’s progress appears to have earned him his debut start at first this weekend.
“We talked a few days ago, and he’s like, ‘I feel confident,’” Cora said prior to the Red Sox's fifth straight loss, a 6-5 defeat in 10 innings to the Brewers. “There’s a chance he’ll play one in Atlanta.”
The move marks the latest twist in what’s been a whirlwind rookie season for Campbell. The 22-year-old roared out of the gate in his first month as a big leaguer, hitting .301 with a .902 OPS through April while adding four homers and plating 12 RBIs. But just as the Rookie of the Year predictions started pouring in, Campbell’s bat went cold. He entered Wednesday’s series finale in Milwaukee slashing .120/.165/.160 in May, one of several struggling hitters within Boston’s scuffling lineup.
Yet those offensive troubles have not hampered Campbell’s ability to prove to the coaching staff that he can add another new position to his plate. Dating back to college, first base is the only spot outside of catcher and pitcher that the rookie hasn’t logged time at. With that in mind, while Cora feels comfortable with Campbell’s defensive flexibility, he’ll ensure he isn’t out there without help.
“[We’ll] probably have somebody here in the dugout just be on top of him the whole game, [someone] who pays attention to him,” Cora said. “Having somebody with him the whole game from the dugout -- make sure you’re doing this and doing that -- we’ll walk him through it.”
Cora intimated the move to first base won’t be a thrown-into-the-deep-end type of situation for Campbell. Boston plans to incrementally add more starts at the position as opposed to playing him there multiple days in a row. Additionally, Cora felt the Braves -- who boast a much more powerful lineup than a Brewers group that prioritizes grinding out at-bats and putting the ball in play -- would serve as the best matchup for Campbell to begin his trial at first.
Whenever Campbell does make his opening start at first, it’ll mark the fourth defensive position he’s played for Boston in just 42 games in the field. It’s not the most traditional way to kick off a big league career, but according to Cora, adding a new position to his repertoire doesn't have Campbell feeling any less confident.
“He’s like, ‘We’ll never know if I don’t play,’” Cora said. “I love that he feels convicted about it, so one game in Atlanta, he’ll do it.”
Casey Drottar is an editorial producer at MLB.com.