Red Sox Should Bench Talented Rookie, New Report Says

The Boston Red Sox are grappling with a tough decision.

As the 2025 season unfolds, there is growing chatter about whether one of their young stars should be benched.

The player in question was heralded as a breakout talent but has seen his early promise fizzle, prompting analysts and fans to question his role on a team fighting to stay in the American League East race.

Bleacher Report’s Kerry Miller recently weighed in, capturing the heart of the debate with a pointed assessment.

“Initially, Boston's decision to break camp with Kristian Campbell on the roster seemed like a brilliant move," Miller wrote.

"Through eight games, he was batting .423 with a 1.323 OPS, looking like the early front-runner for AL Rookie of the Year. Since that Aaron Judge-like start, however, the 22-year-old has been one of the least valuable position players in all of baseball, barely batting .200 and playing the worst defense among qualified second basemen, per StatCast."

"On the one hand, you'd love to let the rookie work through those growing pains," Miller continued.

"He was one of MLB's top prospects heading into the season, and the Red Sox showed a ton of faith in putting him in the Opening Day lineup despite a .576 OPS during spring training. Undoing that faith with a benching or even a demotion back to Worcester would be a tough pill to swallow. On the other hand, can this underperforming team really afford to keep running one of its biggest underperformers out there over and over again? Maybe Boston is just waiting for Alex Bregman to return from his quad strain, at which point there would be more infield flexibility, possibly with Marcelo Mayer going to shortstop and Trevor Story moving to second. Rather than wait for Bregman, though, the Red Sox could put Roman Anthony in center and shift Ceddanne Rafaela to second base—though, he isn't much of an offensive improvement over Campbell.”

Campbell’s early-season heroics had Red Sox Nation buzzing. Now, his offensive slump has Boston wondering whether they can afford to let him work through his struggles.

Boston’s dilemma is clear: nurture a struggling prospect or prioritize immediate results.

Alex Cora has his hands full.