Of all the spots available in the Boston Red Sox's 2025 starting lineup, only one seems truly up for grabs.
The Red Sox never had a consistent presence at second base this past season, and that's been a theme for Boston since the injuries began mounting for former superstar Dustin Pedroia nearly a decade ago. Heading into next season, it is imperative that someone can lock down the second base job.
Boston thought they had their second baseman of the future when they traded aging star pitcher Chris Sale last winter for former Atlanta Braves top prospect Vaughn Grissom, but Grissom's first season in Boston didn't go according to plan. He struggled mightily at the plate in limited big-league action, and ended up being demoted for Triple-A for two full months.
Meanwhile, a Red Sox top prospect has been blitzing his way through the minors and making a case to take over the second base gig. Kristian Campbell, the fourth-round pick the Red Sox used as compensation for losing Xander Bogaerts in free agency, won several year-end awards after a breakout offensive season.
It may well come down to Grissom and Campbell for the starting job, and it's too early to say for sure which one has the edge. But Katie Manganelli of FanSided predicted Sunday that Grissom will ultimately win the job by Opening Day.
"Depending on the candidates' spring training performances, the starting second baseman job willmost likely come down to Grissom and Campbell.Their right-handedness will give them an advantage over Boston's lefty options and their defense is overall more reliable," Manganelli said.
"For the sake of choosing one option, we'll go with Grissom due to Campbell's lack of major league experience, but Campbell shouldn't be completely ruled out after his outstanding breakout season."
Grissom (24) had a .190/.246/.214 slash line in 114 major-league plate appearances this year, though he got hot for the final month of the Triple-A season. Meanwhile, Campbell (22) batted .330 with a .997 OPS across three levels of the minors this year, leading all affiliated batters with at least 500 plate appearances in OPS.
Watching Sale succeed in Atlanta to the tune of a likely Cy Young Award while Grissom failed to establish himself as a major leaguer in 2024 was a rough experience for Red Sox fans, but a successful career can follow many different paths.
Perhaps a fresh start will allow Grissom to fulfill his potential in 2025. If he starts slow, though, Campbell will assuredly be lurking in the wings.
