The Boston Red Sox are signing 22-year-old rookie second baseman Kristian Campbell to an eight-year, $60 million contract extension, according to sources who spoke to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand. The contract runs through 2032 and features club options for both 2033 and 2034.
Campbell is the Red Sox’s second-ranked prospect and the sixth-ranked prospect overall in Major League Baseball, according to MLB.com.
A fourth-round pick in the 2023 MLB Draft, Campbell recorded 142 hits and 20 home runs in 115 games at the A+, AA, and AAA levels during the 2024 season. He made his major league debut on Opening Day this season and has started in all of the Red Sox’s games. In five starts, he has six hits on a .375 batting average and a home run, which came on March 29th in a 4-3 loss to the Texas Rangers.
Kristian Campbell’s deal with the Red Sox includes club options for 2033 at $19 million and 2034 at $21 million, per source. That would take the full guarantee of the contract to $100 million over 10 years. If both options are exercised, Campbell would reach free agency at 32.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) April 2, 2025
“He’s feeling good about himself,” said Red Sox manager Alex Cora after the loss. “He almost made one of the best catches that we have seen. It’s probably a zero percent catch probability, and he had it. He’s feeling good. We’ll keep playing him more around and obviously take care of him when we have to.”
As of this writing, he is 26th in the MLB slugging percentage (.688), tied for tenth in on-base percentage (.500), and tied for 17th in OPS (1.188).
At least one thing is going right for the Red Sox
I previously wrote that Boston would be the team to win the AL East, and they have made me look pretty stupid through the first five games of the season. Not only are they last in their division, but they are tied with three other teams for the third-worst record in baseball at 1-4.
Considering how disastrous the start of the season has been for the Red Sox, they have done one thing really well so far: solidify their future. Yesterday, they signed 25-year-old starting pitcher Garrett Crochet to a six-year contract extension worth $170 million, according to sources who spoke to Mark Feinsand. Now, they’re giving Campbell an eight-year extension, meaning they have looked down their ace pitcher and starting second baseman through the end of the decade at the very least. If Campbell ends up being an elite player, then his contract will be an absolute steal in the long run.
Plenty more KC to come! pic.twitter.com/qKJOgE0pWT
— Red Sox (@RedSox) April 2, 2025
Also, the Red Sox might not be done spending. Rumors are circulating that Boston could be open to signing 20-year-old outfielder Roman Anthony to a long-term contract extension. According to The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier, who has been covering sports for the publication since 2015, the Sox have “shown interest” in getting a long-term deal done with MLB.com’s second-ranked overall prospect. If Boston signs him to a long-term deal, too, that’ll be another promising young player they’ll be able to add to the roster and a franchise cornerstone for years to come.
Things aren’t going well for the Red Sox so far. The team’s 2024 leaders in bWAR (Jarren Durran and Rafael Devers) have combined for just six hits in 40 at-bats, which equates to a .150 batting average. Meanwhile, Alex Bregman, who was brought in to help with the Red Sox’s fielding issues, already has one error in his first five games this season, meaning he commits errors at a rate of 20%. Last year, he only committed ten errors in 145 starts, a rate of 6.9%.
With all the terrible things going on in Beantown, at least Red Sox fans can feel good about the future.
