Kristian Campbell Adapts to First Base After Casas’ Injury
Boston Red Sox rookie Kristian Campbell has begun practicing at first base due to the season-ending knee injury of Triston Casas.
Campbell took some pregame work at first base before Friday night’s series opener against the Atlanta Braves at Fenway Park. Manager Alex Cora addressed the situation when he spoke with reporters before the game.
Looking at options. Obviously, we’ll have Romy (Gonzalez) probably by the end of the week, the beginning of next week, but we just want to introduce him to first base and see how it looks. That’s where we are.
Alex Cora
Casas suffered a rupture of the left knee tendon while running towards first base during a game against the Minnesota Twins earlier this month. His replacement at first base, Gonzalez, was placed on the 10-day injured list with a left quadriceps contusion last week.
A possible option for the replacement, the outstanding hitter Rafael Devers, stated after Casas’ injury that he would not be willing to move to first base after moving from third base to designated hitter during spring training, following the signing of free agent Alex Bregman by Boston.
Campbell, one of the best baseball prospects, started the season with the Major League team and has been their primary second baseman at the start of the season. He has also played in the outfield and at shortstop and third base, but never at first base.
When asked what he would need to see for Campbell to be a realistic option at first base for his team, Cora added: “The process has begun, right? It can take 10 days, 15 days, a month, two months. But we started the process and presented it to first.”
