21 hours Ago
When the shine of announcement of a done deal wore off and the final numbers surfaced on Kristian Campbell’s eight-year, $60 million extension with the Red Sox on Wednesday afternoon, the reaction was widespread. “Wow, that’s it?!” Campbell’s deal, which includes two club options that can stretch it out to $96 million over 10 years and further escalators that can cause that number to grow even more, didn’t come with an eye-popping guarantee. The contract isn’t even a lock to hit nine figures over the course of a decade.
On the surface, it looked like a major bargain, especially on the same day Jackson Merrill landed a nine-year, $135 million guarantee from the Padres just a single season into his big league career. Baseball economics help explain the number. So, too, does Campbell’s story.
After just five games in the major leagues, the Campbell contract, of course, can’t be compared on an apples-to-apples basis to anything like Juan Soto’s (who had eight stellar free agent seasons before signing), Garrett Crochet’s (a reigning All-Star two years away from free agency) or even Merrill’s (he received All-Star votes last year and put together a full standout season). It’s effectively a pre-debut agreement, just five days later. The Sox were willing to make a rather large commitment to a player who has not proven it yet in the majors, and in return, Campbell was willing to put pen to paper and risk sacrificing potential future value to do so.
You know what they say about the bird in hand. Some prospects are blue-chippers from the start and begin dreaming big early. For someone like, say, Marcelo Mayer, getting to the majors has always been something of a guarantee.
That was not the case for Campbell, who found out over the weekend — in addition to the fact he was being called up — that big leaguers don’t have road roommates, the Red Sox fly private and how he wouldn’t have to find his own way from Monterrey, Mexico to Texas if he made the Opening Day roster . A year ago, Campbell was a little-known prospect who very few even had ranked among the top 25 prospects in the Red Sox system ( though MassLive did ). When the Chattanooga native suited up as the designated hitter at High-A Greenville on Opening Day of the 2024 season just 362 days ago, the big leagues — and a major payday — must have seemed worlds away.
A year later, that a $60 million offer was on the table was nothing short of a miracle. And as a result, the shy, often soft-spoken Campbell decided it was time to lock in generational money. Campbell’s deal may age poorly for him and his representatives.
In five years, it could be one of the greatest bargains in baseball at a $7.5 million average annual value. But you can’t fault him, at all, for striking while the iron was hot after a meteoric rise.
Campbell went undrafted out of high school just four years ago, then redshirted as a freshman at Georgia Tech in 2022. Forty-five good games as a Yellow Jacket later, he went to the Red Sox with the 132nd overall pick in 2023 and received a signing bonus of $492,700. When Campbell was assigned to Greenville at the beginning of last season, it was borderline unimaginable that he’d be at this point now.
What became a reality this week — a big league debut and $60 million in just a year’s time — was at that point nothing short of a pipe dream. Some players know forever that they’re future major leaguers, consider their big league debuts an eventuality and then figure they’ll make big money in arbitration and eventually, free agency, down the line. But only a small fraction of players who debut get to those paydays.
There’s something to be said for someone like Campbell who, instead of holding out for every last potential dollar, attacked things differently. He accomplished his dream and is happy to be here. The money, then, is somewhat secondary.
“I was talking to my family about that,” Campbell said Wednesday in Baltimore . “I’ve just got to worry about baseball now. Everything that’s happened is life-changing, for sure, so that’s why we’re really happy about it.
I’m looking forward to just playing baseball now and winning games.” Yes, the Red Sox might have gotten a steal Wednesday that will allow them to spend big on other areas of their roster for years to come. Yes, Campbell accepted a deal that many others in his shoes — but without his backstory — might not.
But kudos to Campbell for cashing in on a day that, not too long ago at all, seemed quite improbable. More Red Sox coverage.
