The Boston Red Sox, after falling to the Detroit Tigers 2-1 on Saturday night, have dropped to 70-66 on the season and are 3.5 games out of the last Wild Card spot in the American League with just 26 games left in their regular season.
On Sunday, Boston, like the other 29 teams in Major League Baseball, will get two extra roster spots for the last month of the season, meaning they'll be able to have 28 players traveling with the big league club (only 14 can be pitchers). And, while the Red Sox have plenty of options that could help the team in their playoff push, it appears one of their top prospects won't be making the quick jump.
According to MassLive's Christopher Smith, Boston isn't expected to call up infield/outfield prospect Kristian Campbell.
The 22-year-old has risen quickly in the Red Sox's organization, as he started this year at High-A Greenville and moved his way up to Triple-A Worcester in no time. Heading into Saturday, Campbell has appeared in eight games for Worcester, and he's hit .303 with a 1.016 OPS, three home runs, 12 RBIs and two stolen bases. In 56 games for Double-A Portland, he hit .362 with a 1.045 OPS, eight home runs, 35 RBIs and 17 stolen bases.
Boston clearly needs a right-handed bat to balance their lefty-heavy lineup, and Campbell could fill that role. Manager Alex Cora spoke about the possibility of calling him up recently and admitted that it's something that his staff has discussed, but it probably wouldn't be the best move for the team this year.
For now, the Red Sox will have to rely on other names, but while there are certainly other who could help, none could potentially help the way Campbell could.
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