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Red Sox Urged to Bench Kristian Campbell Amid Poor 2025 MLB Season

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Matthew Sullivan | Last updated Jun 17, 2025 7:00 PM ET

The Boston Red Sox are having a very strange 2025 MLB season. From the multiple top prospects getting the call to the big league to Rafael Devers getting traded out of nowhere, there has been no shortage of drama in Boston this season.

If they wanted to spice things up even more, the Red Sox could listen to Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report and bench struggling top prospect Kristian Campbell. Miller is urging the Red Sox to bench the second baseman after his rough first half of the season.

"Since that Aaron Judge-like start, however," Miller writes. "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."

Between Campbell's offense and defense being huge issues for the Red Sox, Boston could make the difficult decision and bench him until further notice. That kind of decision could be a lot easier to make once Alex Bregman and Wilyer Abreu return from injury.

But, in the meantime, the Red Sox will try to get as much out of Campbell as they can. Campbell signed an eight-year, $60 million contract with the Red Sox before his rookie season. He started strong, but has not since lived up to the high expectations he came into the season with.

Campbell is batting .227 on the year with 51 hits and six home runs. Overall, his WAR is at a negative 0.6, one of the lowest in baseball, and on the Red Sox. Campbell might need to be demoted to the Minor Leagues for a reset if this poor production at the plate continues.

It's only the first 65 games of his career, so a slow start isn't the end of the world. But, before the Red Sox burn him out and watch him struggle, they should bench him, in Kelly's opinion. With how he's played, it might not be a bad idea.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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