Red Sox’s Isaiah Campbell Sees Trade As ‘Huge Compliment’

BOSTON — It would have been easy for Isaiah Campbell to feel dejected after the Seattle Mariners traded him in November, but the Red Sox newcomer chose to look at the positives.

He’s happy to be valued in Boston.

“You never expect to be traded, but I took it as a huge compliment,” Campbell told NESN.com on Wednesday. “It validates all the success I’ve had previously, all the hard work and everything I’ve been doing up to that point. It’s a compliment that another team valued me.”

Campbell, who was acquired in exchange for Luis Urías, has found success throughout his career, but never has been able to sustain an individual role. He missed an entire season of baseball in 2020, as Minor League Baseball shut down its season. In his return, the 26-year-old pitched to a 2.33 ERA before going down with an elbow injury.

Campbell eventually made his Major League Baseball debut in 2023, and despite recording a 4-1 record with a 2.83 ERA over the course of 28 2/3 innings with the Mariners, he found himself on the trading block.

In response, Campbell plans on doing more of the same in trying to make the Red Sox roster.

“I think it’s cliché, but it’s just about controlling what I can control,” Campbell said. “If there’s a role for me, there’s a role for me, and whatever I’m put into I’ll try to be successful at that. I’m not trying to be anything different than who I am, just whatever I can do to carve out a role, I want to be the best I can be at it.”

The Red Sox don’t have a ready-made role for Campbell, but that doesn’t mean he’s not capable of making the team. He was new chief baseball officer Craig Breslow’s first acquisition for a reason, and there’s a spot to be had, and he fully plans on finding his way into it.

“I’m just trusting the process, and whatever happens, happens… whatever I can do to help this team get to the World Series and bring it back to Boston.”