Who's on first? It appears it won't be Kristian Campbell in the near future

Boston Globe

2 days ago

'It's nothing we're planning on doing [in games] now,' Cora said of having Campbell play first.
Campbell, who won AL Rookie of the Month honors in April after hitting .301/.407/.495, entered Monday hitting .140/.187/.174 since the beginning of May. Was there any chance Campbell's introduction to a new position contributed to his struggles?
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'Hopefully. I hope [having him not work at first base] works today. I'll be like, 'Hey, blame me [for his struggles],' ' said Cora. 'But I think there's more than that.'
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Cora pointed to the fact that Campbell's offensive struggles started before he began doing pregame work at first base on May 16. His groundball rate spiked and his walk rate cratered in early May. But Cora characterized Campbell's struggles as normal rookie growing pains.
'We still believe in the swing, we still believe in the character,' said Cora. 'Obviously, we're going to go through stretches like this. And I lived it before with
Jarren
[
Duran
], with [
Triston
]
Casas
, with
Dustin Pedroia
. … So [we] just try to help him out and keep the confidence up. Just remind him that he's still a good player, regardless of what the numbers said so far this season.'
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Gonzalez, who was hitting .308/.362/.423 when he landed on the injured list, was in line to serve as the primary Sox first baseman when
Triston Casas
sustained his season-ending injury. But now the allocation of playing time has been redrawn, with Toro (.310/.310/.534) expected to get most of the starts against righties.
Gonzalez was simply happy to return rather than bemoaning a missed chance at playing time.
'I'm obviously super ecstatic to be back with the boys, just being able to contribute in any way,' Gonzalez said.
With Gonzalez activated,
Nate Eaton
was optioned to Triple A Worcester.
Devers takes grounders
For the first time in a month,
Rafael Devers
was seen taking pregame infield grounders. He did so on the left side of the infield. Anything to that?
'I didn't know,' Cora said of his designated hitter donning a glove
Jansen returns
Kenley Jansen
, who had 56 saves for the Red Sox from 2023-24, returned to Fenway with the Angels.
'I got the chance to put [a Sox] uniform on for two years. These fans are awesome; that's one thing I can I say.' Jansen said. 'Yeah, we didn't go to the playoffs, but I had a blast to play here.'
Jansen, 37, hopes to play another few seasons.
'My goal is to get to 40,' he said. 'It's a game that I love and I still love doing it.' … The Angels placed third baseman
Yoán Moncada
(right knee inflammation) and righthander
Robert Stephenson
(biceps inflammation) on the IL and recalled outfielder
Matthew Lugo
and lefthander
Sam Aldegheri
.
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Lugo, 24, was a second-round pick by the Red Sox in 2019. He was one of four prospects traded to the Angels last July for reliever
Luis Garcia
.
'This was not how I expected to get to Fenway Park for a game, but I'll take it,' said Lugo.
Crawford steps up workload
Kutter Crawford
(right knee) is up to four simulated innings in live batting practice sessions, and is scheduled to begin a minor league rehab assignment this week. He'll be stretched out as a starter, Cora said …
Tanner Houck
is throwing on flat ground, but there's no timetable for him to throw off a mound. …
Masataka Yoshida
is now throwing at 75 feet … Sox minor league catcher/first baseman
Brooks Brannon
was named Minor League Baseball's High-A player of the week after going 11 for 21 with a .524/.524/1.048 line with two homers and six extra-base hits for the Greenville Drive … Monday was Lou Gehrig Day across MLB, with players, managers, coaches, and umpires wearing a '4' decal on their uniforms in an effort to raise awareness and provide research funds to combat ALS. Prior to Monday's game at Fenway, the Red Sox recognized families from across New England affected by the disease.
Alex Speier can be reached at