Red Sox takeaways from opening road trip: Crochet, Campbell extensions, Devers gets a hit

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The season-opening road trip for the Boston Red Sox didn’t start off on the best note, but it ended on a good one. After losing three of four to the Texas Rangers, the Red Sox took two of three in Baltimore to finish the trip at 3-4. Off the field it was also busy, as the team signed two key members of their roster to long-term extensions.

Following an 8-4 win over the Orioles on Thursday, the Red Sox head home for seven games, with three this weekend against the St. Louis Cardinals and four next week against the Toronto Blue Jays. Friday’s home opener is set for a 2 p.m. first pitch with Walker Buehler on the mound.

Here are some key takeaways from the road trip:

Rafael Devers finally gets his first hit

After starting the season on a historically bad streak (0-for-19 with 15 strikeouts in his first five games), Devers finally notched his first hit of the season on Wednesday, and drove in his first run in the process.

In his first two at-bats on the night, Devers popped out and then grounded out, marking marginal progress after so many strikeouts, but stretching his hitless streak to 0-for-21. When he came to the plate in the fifth with a runner on, he pulled a 2-1 curveball to right field for a double, scoring Ceddanne Rafaela. Devers’ first hit came off the bat at 109.5 mph. His average exit velocity in 2024 was 93.2 mph. The Red Sox dugout erupted in applause and Devers looked relieved to finally make contact.

“We all needed that one,” manager Alex Cora told reporters in Baltimore after the game.

Devers added a single to center in his next at-bat, finishing 2-for-4. On Thursday, he drew a walk in his first plate appearance and scored on Alex Bregman’s two-run homer. He finished the day 1-for-3, collecting another strikeout and two fly outs before hitting a single to center in the ninth inning on a 1-2 pitch (a cutter). He’s still finding his rhythm, but he’s starting to make more contact and that bodes well for his timing at the plate.

Garrett Crochet dominant in first post-extension start

Crochet’s line on Opening Day in Texas wasn’t bad with two runs allowed on five hits and two walks along with four strikeouts in five innings, but the bar he’s set for himself is so high that it was a bit underwhelming. After regularly hitting triple digits in spring training, he only topped out at 97.5 mph in the opener.

Looming contract talks might have had something to do with the performance and the Red Sox cleared that distraction before his next start, signing Crochet to a record six-year, $170 million extension on Tuesday.

When Crochet returned to the mound on Wednesday in Baltimore, he was outright dominant.

“That’s the reason he’s here. That’s the reason we committed to him.”

Alex Cora on Garrett Crochet’s stellar outing ⭐ #RedSox pic.twitter.com/dxwE8c36O4

— NESN (@NESN) April 3, 2025

The left-hander posted eight scoreless innings, allowing four hits and a walk while striking out eight. He threw 102 pitches, 68 for strikes, and registered 14 swings-and-misses. It marked the longest start of his career, having reached seven innings three times in his first season as a starter last year with the White Sox.

Crochet still only maxed out at 98.1 mph, but preserving the heaters for the middle of the summer is a safer bet anyway and he clearly didn’t need more velocity with an utterly dominant performance against a strong Baltimore lineup.

Kristian Campbell off to a red-hot start as he signs on long-term with the team

Campbell’s blazing start to the season in Texas continued in Baltimore. After finishing 6-for-14 with two doubles and a homer against the Rangers, Campbell kept it up in Baltimore, going 4-for-10 with a homer and two doubles.

He’s reached base safely in all seven of his big-league games, hitting safely in six of them, and is 10-for-24 (.417) with four doubles, two homers, four walks and five strikeouts. Per Elias, Campbell is the first Red Sox player ever to have at least 10 hits, six extra-base hits and four walks in their first seven games to start their career.

On top of his monster big-league debut, Campbell also signed an eight-year, $60 million contract extension this week, locking him up through 2032. The admittedly very early returns are proving the deal well worth it.

Before the extension, Campbell would have been under team control for six more seasons through 2030. With the new deal, the Red Sox have secured him for an additional two years at a very reasonable $13 million and $16 million, respectively.

Had Campbell not signed a long-term deal, he would have been a pre-arbitration player for the next three years where the team sets his salary, slightly above the major-league minimum of $760,000, which increases each year.

In years four through six, Campbell would have been arbitration-eligible where he and the team negotiate on year-to-year salaries. Typically, players make between $5-15 million in their three arbitration years, though that varies widely. The record salary for an arbitration-eligible player was Juan Soto’s $31.5 million salary with the Yankees last season, his last under team control before he entered free agency and signed his monster contract this winter.

Depending on how Campbell’s career plays out, he would have made roughly $40 million before hitting free agency ahead of 2031. Now the Red Sox have him under control through 2032, with team options for 2033 and 2034 of $19 million and $21 million, respectively.

Could Campbell have waited for more money? Of course. But he chose security and now the Red Sox have him as a roster mainstay for the better part of the next decade.

Will Bregman and the Red Sox have a happy homecoming at Fenway?

Over the last few years, the Red Sox have not played well at home, with 2022 being the last season they posted a winning record (43-38) in Boston.

Each of the last two seasons the Red Sox posted 38 and 39 wins, respectively, out of their 81 home games and have failed to capitalize on the friendly confines of Fenway Park, particularly the wall in left.

Bregman, whose 1.240 career OPS at Fenway Park is the highest-ever among players with at least 75 plate appearances, hopes to change that.

Last season with Houston, Bregman went 7-for-15 with two home runs and two doubles in a three-game series at Fenway. In his career in Boston, he’s hit .375 with seven homers, nine doubles and 15 RBIs in 21 games.

It’s unlikely he’ll post those kinds of numbers across an entire season at Fenway (although who knows with the torpedo bat in use), but it’s a safe bet Bregman will hit well at home park and that should bode well for the rest of the team.

(Top photo of Campbell: Greg Fiume / Getty Images)

This news was originally published on this post .

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