Red Sox Legend Criticizes Craig Breslow for Rushing Top Prospects
The Boston Red Sox have not shied away from utilizing their youth in 2025. The Red Sox brought up four of their top prospects this year with three of them 23 years old or younger.
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Boston has had an inconsistent, streaky season, with the trade of their star Rafael Devers in the middle of the chaos. However, the Red Sox are currently red-hot approaching the All-Star break.
But recently, a Red Sox legend had some harsh words for the Red Sox's chief baseball officer, Craig Breslow. Red Sox Hall of Famer and current analyst Jonathan Papelbon blamed Boston's young prospects' struggles on Breslow calling them up too early.
"We called (Kristian Campbell) up too early. I don't think that he's going to be called up back to the big leagues any time soon until they 100 percent know that he's ready," Papelbon said on Foul Territory.
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"You know as well as I do man, when a kid comes up to the big leagues, the moment he walks through those doors, you can look at him, have a two second conversation, look in his eyes, and know, 'Man this kid is ready for the big leagues,' or, 'Man his eyes are big, I don't think he's ready.' Look, at the end of the day, he was not ready. I fully blame Breslow for doing this."
Campbell played 67 games at the big league level before being optioned back to Triple-A. The young second baseman struggled at the plate, hitting just .223 with a .345 slugging percentage. Campbell also struck out 72 times compared to just 29 walks drawn.
Papelbon continued by including outfielders Roman Anthony and Marcelo Mayer, who the Red Sox called up a little later in the first half of the season. Mayer made his major league debut at the end of May, and Anthony got the call-up in early June.
"And on Mayer and Roman Anthony too; they were called up too early as well. It was, 'Oh, look at these shiny new tools we have, let's hurry up and call them up,'" Papelbon said. "Just now they're starting to get going, but it's a lot tougher on the player when you're called up and you're not ready."
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Boston Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow talks with the media at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Kim Klement Neitzel-USA TODAY SportsKim Klement Neitzel-USA TODAY Sports
As noted by Papelbon, both players struggled out of the gate. Mayer is still hitting just .221 with 36 strikeouts in 39 games. But, the young outfielder is 6-13 in his last four games, raising his average from .210 to .221, with two doubles and two RBI over that span.
Similarly, Anthony struggled out of the gate, but he's found his footing a little quicker. The right fielder is hitting .265 with 13 RBI and has two home runs. But, at the end of June, Anthony was hitting just .210, and has hit .350 in July.
Papelbon is not wrong; the Red Sox's young prospects struggled when they first got called up. However, they may be figuring it out at the big league level, which could benefit them later.
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One thing is certain: Boston is not afraid to send their young prospects up to the majors and let them figure things out. But for a player like Campbell, it may have set him back as he couldn't break out of his struggles in time before the Red Sox sent him back down.
Related: Red Sox Hit Hard by Hunter Dobbins Injury Update
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 13, 2025, where it first appeared.
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