One day after extending Garrett Crochet, the Red Sox took care of another monumental order of business.
Boston last week signed Kristian Campbell to an eight-year extension that reportedly can be worth as much as $100 million. Putting pen to paper was a remarkable benchmark for Campbell, who enjoyed a meteoric rise through the Red Sox farm system last season and cracked the club’s 2025 Opening Day roster.
Craig Breslow and company formally announced Campbell’s extension Saturday, one day before the rookie helped the Red Sox complete a sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals. In doing so, Boston’s chief baseball officer didn’t mince words when he expressed the magnitude of the pact.
“Here we are today sharing what I would call a massively significant moment for this organization because Kristian was not drafted in the first round, he wasn’t a top prospect upon entering the organization,” Breslow told reporters, as seen on NESN. “What he was was a good player who made himself a great player because of his work ethic and diligence and open-mindedness and attitude. And so, in many ways, he is a prime example of what’s possible when great scouting meets great development around a player who prioritizes maximizing his potential over everything else.
“There are so many people in this organization who should feel particularly proud about their contributions to Kristian’s development – from our major league staff all the way down to hitting coaches in A-ball and the entire player development and scouting groups.”
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Campbell admitted it was a “fairly easy” decision to commit long-term to the Red Sox, whose development program was instrumental in the 22-year-old making such a quick jump to the big leagues. The 2023 fourth-rounder, like so many others, also sees a great opportunity for sustained success in Boston, where an already great roster is poised to become even better thanks to a robust prospect pool.
And if the Red Sox do end up becoming one of MLB’s best teams for years to come, Campbell probably will be a big reason why.
