Kristian Campbell is back to square one.
The Boston Red Sox elected to send the infielder back to Triple-A Worcester on Thursday, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN. Ian Browne of MLB.com confirmed the news, noting that it leaves room for Wilyer Abreu’s return from the injured list.
Campbell, 22, has seen his quality of play drop off tremendously over the last month-plus. Boston signed him to an eight-year, $60 million contract this spring, and it looked like an absolute steal as he was hitting .301/.407/.495 at the end of April, but those numbers have slipped considerably with a .159/.243/.222 slash line since the beginning of May.
Campbell was named American League Rookie of the Month for April.
Boston will be happy to return Abreu to the lineup, who missed the minimum amount of time with his oblique injury. Campbell’s sharp regression is, as his struggles on both sides of the diamond made him unplayable late in games — with manager Alex Cora routinely subbing him out for David Hamilton and Ceddanne Rafaela since the start of June.
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The Red Sox will certainly bring the rookie back up at some point this season, but for now, it’s time for him to reset.
