MLB Notebook: Red Sox promote pitching prospect Hunter Dobbins, Kristian Campbell can focus on ‘winning games’

The Red Sox are calling up one of their pitching prospects ahead of Sunday’s doubleheader.

Right-handed pitcher Hunter Dobbins is being promoted from Triple-A Worcester, per source. He will serve as the 27th man on the roster.

Dobbins found out he was going to Boston just before the WooSox game in Jacksonville on Saturday night. As he was about to walk out to the field for the national anthem, WooSox manager Chad Tracy told the righty they needed to talk. 

“Tracy just kind of grabbed me, pulled me into an office. He goes, ‘I wish I could do something a little bigger for you but we’ve gotta get you on a plane and get you to Boston,‘” Dobbins said Sunday morning in the Red Sox clubhouse.

Will Dobbins start the second game of the doubleheader?

“There’s a good chance,” Alex Cora said to reporters pregame here at Fenway Park.

“It’s his day to start; he piggybacked Bello on Tuesday, and out of all the guys down there, he can give you as many pitches as we need,” said Cora as to why the Red Sox promoted Dobbins as the 27th man.

Cora said that Dobbins’ “stuff” made a massive impression on him this spring.

“His stuff is really good; velo was great. He threw strikes. The velo caught my attention.”

Dobbins' velocity has been a key factor in his development within the Red Sox system. He’s been learning to attack hitters and add shape to his pitches, allowing him to get the consistency the Sox’ pitching evaluators want.

This spring Dobbins worked on getting his fastball to consistently sit in the upper 90s. 

“The driver is if we can increase his fastball velocity to hold it constantly in the upper 90s, it will elevate the quality and grades of all his other pitches,” Worcester pitching coach Dan DeLucia said of Dobbins on ‘To the Show Baseball Podcast.’ “We are just tightening things up this spring. One of the drivers is getting ahead in counts more often, and when you do put guys away. We want to see how fast he can race to two strikes and how fast he can end the at-bat when he gets to two strikes.”

Dobbins offers a unique pitching arsenal, throwing five pitches: a fastball, slider, sweeper, curveball, and a new pitch he debuted in 2024 that he calls a splinker, which is a combination of a splitter and sinker.

“His splinker is essentially a splitter grip that he rips as hard as he can around 90 MPH that has a splitter action,” DeLucia said of Dobbins’ pitch mix. “We are also retooling his sweeper a little bit. He has a lot of tangibles and qualities that are big-league-ready. It comes down to how consistent he can be with all of those and can he keep that velocity at that level consistently.”

Dobbins was originally an eighth-round pick out of Texas Tech in the 2021 MLB Draft and dealt with injuries, undergoing Tommy John surgery that same year. He has emerged as one of Boston’s most consistent pitching prospects the last couple of seasons.

The hard-throwing righty began last season on top of the Portland Sea Dogs starting rotation, posting a 3.17 ERA and 1.23 WHIP with 98 strikeouts to 39 walks over 105 innings. His strong start to the 2024 campaign ultimately earned Dobbins a promotion to Triple-A Worcester, where he finished the year making four starts and recording a 2.61 ERA with 22 strikeouts. His impressive season saw him get rewarded as the Red Sox’ Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Year.

“I knew I’d get a shot this year if I just stuck to business as usual, did my thing,” Dobbins said. “I didn’t know it was gonna be this quick. Had probably one of my rougher ones on Tuesday down there, just settling into the year. But everything feels good. And I’m glad they gave me a call. I’m ready to go.”

Dobbins is ranked as the Sox’ No. 9 prospect in the system, according to Baseball America. The 25-year-old was in big league camp this spring after he was added to the 40-man roster over the winter, protecting him from the Rule 5 draft in December.

In his first outing this year with the WooSox, he appeared as a reliever, piggybacking off Brayan Bello, who made his first rehab start on April 1 in Jacksonville. He allowed three homers and five runs in just 3 2/3 innings.

'THEY DEVELOPED ME FROM DAY ONE'

One day after the Red Sox and Garrett Crochet held a press conference to announce his new six-year, $170 million extension with the team, Boston celebrated another commitment to a young superstar.

With his family by his side, Red Sox rookie Kristian Campbell sat with Craig Breslow and Sam Kennedy to talk about his brand new eight-year, $60 million contract.

“Twenty-six hours ago, we were sitting in this room announcing the Garrett Crochet extension,” said Kennedy. “So it’s great to be back. We’d be happy to do this every day as long as people want to keep extending.”

It’s been a long time since there’s been buzz and energy around the Red Sox.

“Here we are today sharing what I would call a massively significant moment for this organization because Kristian was not drafted in the first round; he wasn’t a top prospect upon entering the organization. What he was, was a good player who made himself a great player because of his work ethic, diligence, open-mindedness, and attitude,” Breslow said.

“Rather than use my own words to try to provide context around this decision and the extension, Kristian, you said it best,” Breslow added. “When asked whether or not this was a difficult decision, you said that this is the organization that invested in you; this is the organization that helped you become the player that you have. At the end of the day, this was an easy decision for you. I’m not sure there’s a better endorsement of what we’re trying to build here in Boston.”

Campbell wasn’t drafted as a blue-chip prospect coming out of Georgia Tech in 2023. Boston selected him as draft compensation from the San Diego Padres after they signed Xander Bogaerts; from there, Campbell skyrocketed from High-A Greenville to Triple-A Worcester last season, putting together an impressive offensive campaign. He slashed .330/.439/.558 with 20 home runs and 24 steals in 115 games.

“They developed me from day one as soon as I got drafted and made me who I am today,” Campbell said. “So it's a lot of hard work, a lot of commitment from both sides, and they did a very good job. It’s definitely been fast, but they've slowed it down for me a whole lot.”

In a short amount of time, Campbell has impressed people within the organization with how he goes about his business daily.

“The word to describe your son around camp, from where I sit anyway as someone who’s not in the clubhouse each and every day, is humility,” Kennedy said, looking at Campbell’s parents, “that’s probably life’s greatest achievement.”

The Red Sox are finally in the business of locking up their younger talent to team-friendly extensions. Campbell likely left a lot more money on the table in the long term and could regret his decision down the line.

“I was educated throughout this whole process, and it was just a life-changing opportunity for me and my family, and you can’t pass on that,” said Campbell.

Every player's decision is based on what they feel is right for them personally and their families.

“You’re not in their shoes, and I’m not in their shoes,“ Alex Cora said. ”We know their background, but obviously they know more, and the reasons they’re doing it. Some people agree with it. Others don’t. At the end of the day, it’s what makes you happy and makes your family happy. I think his family and his future are in a really good spot."

Campbell’s deal comes with a $7.5 million annual value for the terms of the competitive balance tax. His tremendous upside made sense for the Sox to get a deal done now.

“From a baseball sense, teams are getting better and better at forecasting what players are able to accomplish. But... these are investments not just in a set of skills or metrics or batted-ball profiles. These are investments in people,“ Breslow said. ”Sam talked about Kristian’s humility, and our coaching staff knows him incredibly well and saw the adjustments he was able to make throughout a season. This is a guy who, hours after playing his last game in the minor leagues last year, was going to Fort Myers to start his offseason training. He’s the type of guy you feel really, really comfortable making a bet on."

Breslow admitted that the extension for Campbell came together pretty smoothly, noting that he was locked into talks with his representatives from Beverly Hills Sports Council and missed a team bus in Texas.

“This process can be contentious; it can be confrontational. There was none of that,” Breslow said. “Danny (Horwitz) and I were negotiating down to the last moments, and we spent two and a half hours in the hotel lobby in Texas staring at each other and waiting for the other to blink. I realized that I missed the team bus, so Danny was kind enough to drive me over to the field. What could have otherwise been an awkward moment was, in fact, endearing.”

Campbell told the Boston Herald on Saturday that his new extension was “life-changing” for him and his family. He’s off to a hot start to begin his big league career, batting .423 with two homers, five RBI, and a 1.323 OPS, and now with his new deal in place, he can now focus on playing baseball for the Red Sox.

“It frees me up a lot,” he said of getting the deal done. “That’s literally all I’m worried about right now, is just winning games.”

WHAT’S UP WITH WILYER ABREU?

Before the Red Sox and Cardinals' Saturday rainout, Wilyer Abreu was slated to play right field in Game 2 of the homestand. Rob Refsnyder later replaced him, leaving little explanation for his removal from the lineup.

When meeting with the media on Sunday morning, Cora said that the Gold Glove right fielder was feeling “some heavy legs” but would play in the second game of the day/night doubleheader.

“He’s been dealing with some heavy legs,” Cora said. “Obviously running around that much and the spring training thing (sick). So obviously yesterday, the way things were trending, we pulled him out. But he’ll play the second game today.”

Abreu has been one of the Red Sox's hottest hitters since the season got underway in Texas last week. The 25-year-old is 11-for-22 (.500) with three homers, two doubles, nine runs, eight RBI, seven walks, and two strikeouts in eight contests. His third homer came in the home opener on Friday afternoon, following Trevor Story’s three-run blast in the first inning. On the very next pitch, Abreu belted a 90.2 mph cutter that was left over the heart of the plate from Cardinals starter Erick Fedde.

It was the first time the Red Sox had hit back-to-back homers in a game since Tyler O’Neill and Refsynder completed the feat last September.

DURAN TO PLAY IN LEFT FIELD

Campbell will play center field for the first time on Sunday afternoon. Boston will utilize Campbell as a backup for Ceddanne Rafaela in center, keeping Jarren Duran in left field where Cora thinks he can eventually win a Gold Glove award.

“He’s going to play himself into a Gold Glover in left field,” Cora said on Saturday.

Boston thinks Duran is a better fit in left field, especially when playing at home.

“Just watching Jarren play left [on Friday], I think he’s a monster out there,” Cora said. “The decision-making, it’s different. He can make plays [going] left and right. The more he plays there, the better it’s going to be for us.”

Duran was a finalist for a Gold Glove in center field last season, credited with six defensive runs saved in left field and 17 in center.

Campbell has seen 25 games in center field while in the minors. While he was with the team in the spring, he primarily played both second base and left field.

CORA ON NARVÁEZ

The new season hasn't started off well for Connor Wong. The Red Sox starting catcher is hitting just .053 with a .196 OPS over the first six games.

Will the lack of production by Wong open the door for Carlos Narváez to see more playing time?

“He will play, probably twice a week," said Cora here at Fenway Park. "If he can keep producing, probably more. The at-bats are really good; I like the fact he can control the strike zone, he hits the ball forward, and he puts the ball in play. He uses the whole field."

“Obviously adjusting to a pitching staff, adjusting to the big leagues, he got a taste last year, but now it’s different. It’s part of the challenge, but I think we have a great group as far as game planning and the catching department; he’s going to be ok.”

When asked if he was as advertised defensively, Cora said, “Yes.”

OTHER RED SOX NOTES

- Cora was shocked when he saw the Red Sox' new home run celebration prop, the Wally the Green Monster head.

“I went to get my energy drink when I went down to go to the dugout, and I walk into the cage and I saw it,” the Red Sox manager said. “I just closed my eyes, and I was like, ‘Oh my god, no way.'” The new prop replaces Cora’s 5K medal the team wore following homers and the inflatable dumbbells from two years ago inspired by Masataka Yoshida.

- Speaking of Yoshida, he is now throwing at 110 feet, but the team has not yet decided on when he will begin a rehab assignment.

- Liam Hendricks (right elbow inflammation) is throwing from 120 feet and will throw a bullpen between the doubleheader games on Sunday.

- Bello will make his second rehab start for the WooSox on Sunday afternoon. The righty has been dealing with a right shoulder strain; he pitched last Tuesday, and he allowed four runs in 2 1/3 innings in Jacksonville.

- Lucas Giolito (left hamstring strain) will make his second rehab start when the WooSox come home to Polar Park on Tuesday. He started on Wednesday, tossing two scoreless frames.

- Richard Fitts will start the series opener against the Blue Jays on Monday. He was initially scheduled to pitch Saturday before the game was rained out. Boston will have the Crochet pitch on Tuesday, Tanner Houck on Wednesday, and Walker Buehler on Thursday in the series finale.

AROUND THE LEAGUE

- MLB commissioner Rob Manfred is supporting players for the use of the torpedo bat, saying it’s “absolutely good for baseball.”

The torpedo bat has become a popular topic in the last couple of weeks after the Yankees dismantled the Brewers with a barrage of homers.

"I believe that issues like the torpedo bat and the debate around it demonstrate the fact that baseball still occupies a unique place in our culture," Manfred told The Times in a Q&A published Sunday morning, "because people get into a complete frenzy over something that's really nothing at the end of the day. The bats comply with the rules."

New York hit nine homers on March 29, and the use of the bats has drawn scrutiny around the game.

"Players have actually been moving the sweet spot around in bats for years," Manfred said to the Times. "But it just demonstrates that something about the game is more important than is captured by television ratings or revenue or any of those things when you have the discussions and debates about it."

- The Pirates are under scrutiny for covering a logo in right field that honored the late Roberto Clemente with a new advertisement for Surfside, a Philadelphia-based canned cocktail line of hard teas and lemonades.

Clemente's son weighed in on the social media platform X with a one-word response: "Wow."

Pittsburgh released a statement on Saturday following the team’s 10-4 loss to the Yankees.

“Roberto Clemente is more than a Hall-of-Fame player to us,” the statement from Pirates senior vice president of communications and broadcasting Brian Warecki read. “His legacy helps define who we are as an organization. One would be hard-pressed to find a franchise that pays tribute to one of their historically great players more than the Pittsburgh Pirates do of Roberto Clemente, and rightfully so. Each and every day, we proudly honor and celebrate Roberto Clemente, the person, the player, and the humanitarian in and around our ballpark, as well as through our charitable endeavors.

“The 21-foot-high wall that officially bears Roberto Clemente’s name continues to, and will forever, display his No. 21 in two separate locations. The temporary wall sign in question was put in place prior to the 2022 season and was never meant to be a permanent tribute, simply another cap tip to “The Great One.” We apologize that we didn’t directly communicate that fact to the Clemente family and our fans.”

- Shohei Ohtani threw a 26-pitch bullpen for the Dodgers, taking another step closer to returning to the mound. Ohtani underwent right elbow surgery on Sept. 19, 2023.... The Dodgers placed left-hander Blake Snell on the 15-day injured list due to left shoulder inflammation... Mike Trout has now homered in three straight games for the Angels... Pirates young righty Jared Jones has been on the 60-day IL with a UCL sprain in his right elbow and has been doing shoulder and forearm work. The hurler is back in the gym, but there is no time frame for when he will be back with his club.