Kristian Campbell wasn’t in the starting lineup for the second straight game, but the Red Sox rookie still had plenty to do prior to Monday’s series opener against the New York Mets.

As has become routine over the past few days, Campbell ran through numerous drills at first base during pregame warmups. The Red Sox have acknowledged that they’ve begun the process of introducing Campbell to first in hopes he could become an option at the position, and bench coach Ramon Vazquez said that is the focus for him right now and that he isn’t dealing with any injury issues.

“He’s doing fine, another day for him to do a lot of work out there, working at first base, a lot of stretching, a lot of pretty much doing lunges, catching throws and he’s gotten better,” said Vazquez, who is serving as manager on Monday with Alex Cora away attending his daughter’s college graduation. “We’re giving him an extra day for him to reset and he’ll probably be ready to go in the next couple of days.”

Vazquez said Campbell has also been doing a lot of batting practice and other prep work, and that right now they just want him to clear his mind.

He added that Campbell has enthusiastically taken to his new assignment.

“He’s been great, since we introduced him to first base right away he was really into it, wanted to learn the new position, know everything,” Vazquez said. “He’s been the same old kid.”

Besides learning a brand new position on the fly, Campbell is also trying to work through the first real struggles he’s faced to this point in his professional career. Campbell rocked up through the minors with little resistance last season — his first full year as a pro — and he earned American League Rookie of the Month honors for April after a brilliant start to his big league career.

But since the start of May he’s fallen into a deep slump, going 4 for 47 (.085) over his last 11 games while watching his Wins Above Replacement mark fall from a high of 1.2 on April 30 to -0.1 entering Monday.

“It’s tough, at this level we all know how it is, how everyone prepares, once they get a little bit of information on you, they prepare for you, they prepare especially for you,” Vazquez said. “I think that’s something he’s finally dealing with and we saw the success at the beginning and slowly they’ve been getting to know him a little bit and it’s getting a little harder for him, but we know how good of an athlete he is, he has really good impressive skills putting the bat on the baseball.”

Vazquez suggested Campbell could return to the lineup soon, though with Cora away he hesitated to provide a specific plan.

Former Hamas hostage Shem Tov throws first pitch

Jewish Heritage Night at Fenway Park began with one of the most powerful ceremonial first pitches in recent memory.

On the mound before Monday night’s series opener with the visiting New York Mets was Omer Shem Tov, who survived 505 days in captivity after being taken hostage by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023.

Shem Tov walked onto the diamond wearing white sneakers with “BRING THEM HOME NOW” emblazoned on the side. On the front of his Red Sox jersey was a yellow ribbon to honor his fellow hostages, 58 of whom are still trapped in Gaza. Surrounding the pitcher’s mound were Jewish members of the Red Sox front office. The standing ovation began before he was even in his windup.

“It was amazing, amazing,” Shem Tov told the Herald after. “It’s a great opportunity, and it’s an honor for me to be here tonight.”

Shem Tov is the first former hostage to visit Massachusetts. He wasn’t at Fenway because he loves the Red Sox, or even baseball, at all. He knew the sport, but didn’t grow up watching or playing games, so to prepare, he practiced throwing in Israel. But even though he’s never done anything like this before, he wasn’t nervous.

“After the thing that I’ve been through, there is really, I don’t know, (a) small amount of things that can affect me, make me nervous,” he said. “I was excited.”

Shem Tov also met Alex Bregman, the biggest Jewish star in baseball, before the game. Shem Tov was among the hostages taken from the Nova Music Festival. Bregman, a vocal supporter of Israel and advocate for the hostages, recently spent a Red Sox off-day in Toronto at the Nova Exhibition, going on a tour with someone who survived Hamas’ attack on Nova.

“He’s representing us,” Shem Tov said. “Any Jew is family of mine, so it’s cool, it’s very cool to see him succeed like this, and I wish him the best, only the best.”

On the mound, Shem Tov smiled and blew kisses to the crowd. But behind his warmth, there is pain. He doesn’t hide that.

“On one side, I’m free,” he said. “I’m supposed to be the happiest man alive. And I am happy, I really am, because I’m with my family, I’m with my friends. But at the same time, there is my brothers and my sisters, the other hostages, the remaining hostages, they’re still there. So it’s difficult to move on.”

“There is a lot of guilt,” Shem Tov continued. “Every time I take a sip of water, I know for them it’s like heaven.”

Shem Tov was kept in dark cells underground for long periods of his captivity, and was given so little food that he became emaciated. Only in the days before his release did his captors make sure to feed him, so he wouldn’t look as starved as he had been.

It’s been less than three months since Shem Tov finally came home. He has spent a significant amount of that time traveling the world. Nine days after his release, he flew to Washington D.C. to meet President Trump.

“I have a mission right now,” Shem Tov said. “My mission is to bring all the remaining hostages back home. So I will do whatever it takes. I will be heard where it is. I will go and show myself with me wearing the ribbon. And I’m trying to effect, I’m trying to do something, I’m trying to move things, so anything I can do, I will do it. Anywhere I can be, I will be there.”

Red Sox injury updates

Richard Fitts (right pectoral strain) should be going on a rehab assignment “in the next few days,” said bench coach Ramón Vázquez. “He looks good, by the way. He threw the up-and-down the other day and he said he feels great, felt great right after, so that’s really good news.”

As of pregame Monday, Walker Buehler (right shoulder bursitis) is still scheduled to be activated from the injured list to start Tuesday’s game.

Vázquez wasn’t sure about a timeline for Romy Gonzalez (left quad contusion), but said the utility-man is “doing a lot of other stuff,” including hitting, taking throws, and running sprints. “So, so far I think we’re on schedule with him, with whatever they have planned,” he added.