Entering Spring Training, there was plenty of buzz around the future of the second base position in Boston. However, that buzz mostly surrounded the wild card that was the clubs recent addition of , a third baseman by trade but one who had expre sed a willingne s to move to second base. That led to plenty of belief that Bregman could slide over to the keystone in deference to incumbent third baseman , but all indications point towards the club shifting Devers to DH with Opening Day just over a week away. That leaves a relatively wide-open battle for the second base job this spring. For most of camp, thats appeared to be a battle between incumbent , top prospect , and . While Gri som was the prize of the trade and intended to be the clubs starting second baseman last year, he struggled with injuries and ineffectivene s throughout the Avalanche Custom Jersey year as he got into just 31 big league games and hit a paltry .190/.246/.219 in that time. After Gri som struggled once again in Spring Training this year, hitting just .176/.300/.235 acro s 13 games, it was hardly a surprise when his bid for the starting second base job came to a close when the Red Sox him to Triple-A yesterday. Gri soms exit from the race to start at the keystone in Boston this year didnt fully narrow the field, however, as another candidate has entered the fray: top infield prospect . While Mayer entered camp seemingly unlikely to earn a spot on the Opening Day roster given the fact that he has yet to play at the Triple-A level and mi sed much of last year with an injury, the 22-year-old is a consensus top-20 prospect in the sport for a reason and has turned heads this spring with a phenomenal .357/.438/.536 slash line in 15 spring games. That strong work, in conjunction with Mayers .307/.370/.480 slash line in 77 Double-A games last year, paint a clear picture of a player whos ready for a new challenge. Its become easier to imagine that challenge being in the majors, though it would certainly be defensible for the club to instead simply promote him to Triple-A and wait for him to prove himself at the position as well. After all, Mayer has spent his entire career at shortstop aside from single-game cameos at third base in each of the past two seasons. Hed not played second base before until this spring and still has only a handful of innings at the position as things stand. While its not unheard of for talented players to make the jump from Double-A to the majors and hold their own or even excel offensively, doing that while also learning a new position would be a big ask for any player. That could make one of the clubs other options more attractive. If the club wants to give Mayer more time to develop while still injecting its Opening Day lineup with some youthful upside, Campbell would be a viable alternative. The 22-year-old is a consensus top-ten prospect in the sport, even more highly rated than Mayer by most services, after a phenomenal year where he catapulted himself from High-A all the way to Triple-A acro s just 115 games and crushed the ball at every level along the way. After a 19-game stint at Worcester last year where he hit an impre sive .286/.412/.486, Campbell entered camp with a clear path to making the clubs Opening Day roster. That path has been complicated, however, by a lackluster spring where hes hit just .158/.289/.211 in 16 games. Those offensive struggles, in conjunction with defense at second base that grades out as more decent than spectacular, have created questions as to whether the Red Sox would be better served with more time at Triple-A, serving as depth for the club both at second base but also in the outfield, where he spent 25 games last year in an effort to create more positional versatility. On the other hand, however, Campbell is clearly a strong talent who has proven he can hit at the Triple-A level. Hes also the only right-handed bat in the mix for the everyday second base job with ticketed for a bench role. Thats a factor worth considering given the heavily left-handed makeup for a Red Sox lineup that figures to rely on Devers, , , , and in significant roles throughout the year, to say nothing of top prospect . Campbell joining Bregman and as a right-handed hitter who can offer some pop and keep opposing southpaws honest could help balance the lineup in a way that neither Mayer nor Hamilton can offer. Speaking of Hamilton, he would be a viable alternative to running with a youngster at second base in the event that the club prefers more stable production to begin the season. The 27-year-old doesnt offer much upside with the bat, having posted a .248/.303/.395 slash line in 98 games last year that probably isnt too far from his realistic ceiling, but his defense and baserunning are both top-notch and allowed him to put up 2.6 bWAR/1.7 fWAR in just 317 trips to the plate acro s 98 games last year. Hamilton would also be much easier to justify platooning with Gonzalez than Mayer, who will likely need regular playing time to maximize his development. That could help to alleviate concerns about carrying another left-handed hitting regular for Red Sox bra s this year. As is the case with all top prospects nearing their big league debuts, service time is another consideration. Its po sible that the Red Sox could capture a seventh year of team control over either Campbell or Mayer by holding them down in the minors for at least the first few weeks of the season. And with stars this valuable. thats surely a tempting po sibility. With that being said, the current CBAs prospect promotion incentive makes the decision to leave a player in the minors to try and get an extra year of service a more complicated one than it was in the days of and . If either Campbell or Mayer were to finish within the top two of AL Rookie of the Year voting this year, they would be awarded a full season of service time regardle s of how many days they actually spent in the majors. Whats more, if either player earned a full year of MLB service naturally and either won Rookie of the Year this year or was a finalist in AL MVP voting during his pre-arbitration years, the Red Sox would earn an additional draft pick in the following years draft. Given that, if the Red Sox believe theres a clear path for either youngster to succeed enough that they finish within the top two for Rookie of the Year this season, they might be incentivized to simply put that player on the roster to begin the year in hopes of recouping a draft pick. Who would you start at second base on Opening Day if you were in Bostons position? Does Campbells Triple-A experience or Mayers strong camp hold more weight in your mind? Or perhaps Hamilton is the safest bet that offers the club an opportunity to keep both Mayer and Campbell in the fold for longer? Have your say in the poll below: Who should the Red Sox start at second base to open the year? David Hamilton 35.29% (1,702votes) Marcelo Mayer 33.98% (1,639votes) Kristian Campbell 30.73% (1,482votes) Total Votes: 4,823 Joe Sakic Jersey