Chaim Bloom's prized former draftee could soon become available to the Cardinals

According to recent reporting by Julian McWilliams of CBS Sports, Kristian Campbell, a former top prospect of the Boston Red Sox, is a potential candidate to be designated for assignment by the team. Campbell, 24, agreed to an eight-year deal with Boston less than two years ago, and that contract is now looking like a major mistake.

Campbell has only played 67 games in Major League Baseball. The former fourth-round pick has a career .223/.319/.345 slash line with just six home runs and an 88 wRC+. He's seen time at second base, left field, and center field.

Kristian Campbell spent most of 2026 with Triple-A Worcester. He finished his time there with a .256/.383/.380 slash line, eight home runs, and eight stolen bases in 109 games for a 107 wRC+. That's not a very exciting stat line for a guy who used to post far better offensive numbers in past years in the minors.

Defensively, Campbell had a brutal debut at second base. He was worth minus-16 Defensive Runs Saved and had a minus-10 Fielding Run Value. He was average, give or take, in just 57 innings in center field and 12 innings in left field.

If Kristian Campbell is DFA'd by the Boston Red Sox, Chaim Bloom and the Cardinals should consider picking him up.

Yes, the Cardinals have rookie sensation JJ Wetherholt as their second baseman of the future. However, they're looking for improvements in center field, and a right-handed complement to Nathan Church and/or Victor Scott II might not be a bad idea.

Campbell was part of St. Louis Cardinals' President of Baseball Operations Chaim Bloom's final draft class with Boston. Bloom was also a proponent of players using Driveline to perform better. According to an article written by McWilliams in early September of this year, Kristian Campbell was one of the most ardent adopters of Driveline.

"Campbell was the system. He was the example. More than other top Red Sox prospects Marcelo Mayer or Roman Anthony, Campbell allowed the organization to flex what player development could look like when viewed through the lens of data."

The Cardinals recently hired Joel McKeithan as their hitting coach to replace Brant Brown. McKeithan worked at Driveline from 2016 to 2018, well before Campbell's time in Boston. However, McKeithan will bring some of his Driveline expertise to St. Louis.

Jordan Walker spent time with Driveline last year, and he had an offensive surge this past year. If McKeithan can strike the right chord with Campbell, the same could happen to him.

The elephant in the room would be the remaining value of Campbell's contract. There are still six years and $52.5 million guaranteed left on his contract. There are two club options for 2033 and 2034 as well, Campbell's ages 31 and 32 seasons. That's a lot of money to pay for a player who had just a 107 wRC+ last year at Triple-A.

This wouldn't be the first time the Cardinals would take on a former top-100 prospect who had failed elsewhere. Last year, they picked up outfielder Everson Pereira off waivers. Pereira was useful for the Cardinals last year, finishing the year with a .854 OPS and a 145 OPS+ in very limited time with the Cardinals. He's already on the Cardinals, and he's far cheaper than Campbell would be, albeit without the huge ceiling that Campbell once had.

Should the Red Sox DFA Campbell, one of two things will happen. Either a team will claim him off waivers and take on the remainder of his contract, or he'll pass through waivers and be off Boston's 40-man roster. Should the latter course of action occur, Campbell could play in the minors this upcoming season, as players not on the team's 40-man roster can still play even if the lockout extends into the regular season.

Picking up Kristian Campbell off waivers would be an expensive and risky move for the Cardinals if Boston does indeed DFA him; however, given Bloom's familiarity with Campbell and a new hitting coach on staff, St. Louis could tap into some potential out of Campbell. After all, 2027 will be another year where the team is trying things out rather than truly focusing on contending.

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