Alex Cora on Kristian Campbell: ‘There’s still work to do’ before re-joining Red Sox

BOSTON — Kristian Campbell has been surging at Triple-A Worcester lately, but so far, his performance hasn’t led to a return to the major leagues.

Campbell, who returned to the minors on June 19 after a roller-coaster, two-and-a-half month stretch in the majors, has hit .326 with two homers, two doubles, eight RBIs and a .932 OPS in 12 games for the WooSox so far this month. Still, he has been striking out at a high rate (39 times in his last 35 games) and showing some holes that have given the Red Sox some pause when it comes to bringing him back up.

“I’ve been watching at-bats,” said manager Alex Cora. “He’s producing, but there’s still work to do down there.

“It’s the same things he struggled here with,” Cora added. “Pitch recognition, covering certain shapes of fastballs. That’s something that’s hard because he’s not gonna get that down there. He’s not. The velo here is harder, it’s faster. Locations are on point here. With all due respect to the players down there, the gap is a big gap. Just one of those where we’ve got to keep working. He’s got to keep working and see what the future holds.”

Campbell made the Opening Day roster and burst into the majors with a very solid first month, hitting .301 with four homers, eight doubles, 12 RBIs and a .902 OPS in March and April. May was then a prolonged struggle that saw him post a lowly .134 batting average with 27 strikeouts in 87 plate appearances. By the time he was sent down in mid-June, Campbell’s OPS had dropped to .664. It was at .935 on April 29.

Campbell, who made 54 starts at second base (and eight in the outfield) before being demoted, had started working out at first base by late May after Rafael Devers expressed that he was unwilling to try the position. The Red Sox tabled the Campbell experiment at the position as Abraham Toro and Romy Gonzalez produced but decided to get Campbell reps there once he was back in Triple-A. Over the last two months, he has logged 193 ⅔ innings at first base over 23 starts while playing just 11 games at second base (and one in left field).

With Toro (.199 average, .542 OPS in his last 46 games) and Gonzalez working best as a part-time player, there’s a need for more production at the first base position. But Campbell remains a work in progress there, according to Cora.

“Different situations come up every day but he’s learning,” Cora said. “He’s been OK.”

Roster room is not an issue for the Red Sox, who are currently carrying three catchers with waiver claim Ali Sánchez (who hasn’t played yet) joining Carlos Narváez and Connor Wong on the 26-man roster. The Sox will get two more spots to play with once the calendar turns to September and rosters expand to 28 players on September 1. For now, though, it seems like they’re waiting for Campbell to force the issue.