It doesn’t look like Alex Bregman will be part of the Red Sox double-play duo up the middle with shortstop Trevor Story, at least for now. Rafael Devers has yet to see any game action with a little under three weeks until Boston plays the Texas Rangers in Arlington to open the regular season.
Devers is set to make his Grapefruit League debut either Tuesday or Wednesday, where he should be penciled in as a designated hitter.
“It will be great [to see him play]," Alex Cora told reporters this past weekend. "He needs the reps on the field, but [he needs to] understand what he is working on. Obviously, [we are talking about] the shoulder. We have to be patient. The goal for him is to be ready for Texas [on Opening Day].”
Bregman has seen time at second base but only on the backfields at Fenway South.
He’s played the hot corner in every spring game except one, where he was the team’s designated hitter on the road in Sarasota, Florida versus Orioles. Cora has maintained all spring that Bregman’s role hasn’t been identified and that the team plans on announcing where he’ll play before camp breaks.
Since Bregman “isn’t the starting second baseman,” the competition for the job is heating up with three players vying for the opportunity. Just 17 days away from the first pitch on Opening Day, not one player has jumped off the page and taken a stranglehold on the position.
If the Red Sox decide that Bregman is better suited to remain at third base, who will win the starting second base job?
Vaughn Grissom has seen the most time at the position, playing 41 innings, while Kristian Campbell has split time at both second base (30 innings) and left field (21 innings), with David Hamilton also seeing time at both second base (30 innings) and shortstop (30 innings).
(Getty Images Danielle Parhizkaran)
Can Vaughn Grissom overcome last season?
Grissom is beginning to heat up at the plate and could force the Sox’s hand to land the starting gig. The 24-year-old’s first year in Boston was one he’d like to forget. He initially won the second base job by default after the Sox acquired him from the Braves for Chris Sale. Mainly because Boston had no big league-ready infielders to play the position.
Fans will remember Grissom’s first year in Boston fondly for spending more time hurt than helping the Red Sox. Meanwhile, Sale went out and won the National League Cy Young award, but I’m not here to rehash old wounds. Grissom arrived at spring training last year banged up and weak; he tweaked his groin while participating in “Story Camp," then suffered setbacks with hamstring injuries (in camp and the regular season) to both legs; on top of that, he got sick with the flu and lost weight, setting him back further and resulting in him spending more time playing for the WooSox than the Red Sox.
This year, Grissom has to earn the position and prove to the team that he put his preparation to get ready to be a big leaguer first, something it didn’t appear he did prior to last spring. He’s come into camp after adding more muscle to his body, filling out his frame to help withstand a full baseball season.
“Totally different,” Grissom said to reporters, including MLB.com’s Ian Browne at Fenway South. “I came in last offseason and I was hurt a little bit and underweight probably from what I was used to, and just trying to deal with things and get by, really. Now I feel a lot stronger. I feel like my body's underneath me. I have good weight, just strong and quick and all the good things. It feels good.”
At the plate, the 24-year-old is 5-for-22 (.227), after starting the spring 1-for-13, but has now hit in three straight games, going 4-for-9 with two walks, two doubles, and two RBI.
(Getty Images Danielle Parhizkaran)
Is Kristian Campbell big league ready?
Campbell hasn’t hit at all this spring; he’s 4-for-25 (.124) with five walks and five total bases; he’s five for his last 15 with three walks. The fast-rising prospect has looked lost and almost seems to lack confidence at the dish with Hamilton and Grissom lapping him in the pecking order.
He’s seen time in left field, which could be due to Wilyer Abreu’s GI issues keeping him sidelined since the players reported in early February. The Georgia Tech alum has been working hard at second base, learning the position and footwork needed to play there at the big league level everyday.
“Campbell, he’s learning,” Cora told reporters at JetBlue Park at the end of February. “The turns are getting better. He has range. He has good hands. We’re working hard with him at second base.”
Drafted as a shortstop out of college, Campbell has appeared at second base, short, and in center field as he soared through the minors. His versatility will be a value add to the big league roster once he’s there for good. Boston needs him to get his bat going, once he does, the blue chip prospect will quickly give the Red Sox another right-handed bat for the lineup.
He showed what he can do offensively last season, finishing with a slash line of .330/.439/.558, which was among the best in the minor leagues. Campbell hit 20 home runs and stole 24 bases in 115 games. His 180 wRC+ was the best marker in the minors in 2024, leading him to become Baseball America’s Minor League Player of the Year.
Keep in mind, Campbell has only played in 19 games with the WooSox, getting just 70 at-bats before he was shut down for the remainder of the season with a lat injury.
Boston is excited about Campbell’s athleticism at both the plate and in the field, with second base seen as a possibility to get him on the Major League roster. Others have looked better, and it seems like he needs more minor-league at-bats with the WooSox before the Sox can legitimately consider him an option in Boston.
(Getty Images Danielle Parhizkaran)
David Hamilton the right choice?
Out of the three players battling for the starting job, Hamilton has enjoyed the best camp on both sides of the ball, but statistically, that isn’t saying too much.
Hamilton is a better bench player than starter for the Sox, giving Cora options later in the game with his versatility in the middle of the diamond and his lightning fast speed on the bases. There’s a chance he could also help the Red Sox in the outfield. He played just eight games in center field at the minor league level. His last stint in the outfield came with the WooSox, where he played six games back in 2023.
One knock on Hamilton has been his bat, which hasn't translated to the big-league level. Despite owning a .697 OPS last year, Cora sees his dynamic infielder as a different hitter who added 15 pounds of muscle this winter, he weighed in at 200 pounds, and physically looks bigger.
“He’s stronger. There’s conviction behind [his swing],” Cora said. “He did a good job last year. When he found it, he understood he needed to be more direct to the baseball and hit line drives all over the place.
“Obviously what he does on the basepaths is unreal. We’ll try to give him as many at-bats as possible [in spring training] and see what happens.”
Hamilton’s speed is a game-changer, stealing 33 bases over the last 98 games. With Jarren Duran at the top of the lineup, Hamilton offered a nasty one-two punch at the top of the Sox lineup. The Yankees witnessed that firsthand last summer at Fenway Park when Hamilton stole four bases and scored three times.
“I want to be more consistent this season and have more games like that,” Hamilton said to The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier. “That’s the biggest thing, to be the same player every day.”
The Texas native missed the final month of the season after he fractured his left index finger trying to lay down a bunt. His injury impacted the Red Sox lineup as well as their defense in the field.
“We missed him,” Cora said. “We had a stretch when we had one of the best offenses in baseball, and he was right in the middle of it. He’s an important player.”
Hamilton’s value off the bench might be more of a deterrent to him winning the second-base job. Grissom could slot in and platoon with the speedy infielder while Campbell gets regular at-bats facing minor league pitching at Triple-A Worcester. .
Once Devers is ready to play the field, he will likely return to third base, which means Bregman slides to second base. At that point, the conversation of who will be the starting second baseman is moot. At least the Sox have three capable infielders who can serve as meaningful depth pieces behind Bregman for the 2025 campaign.