Isaiah Lyn Campbell (born August 15, 1997) is an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

for the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. The Mariners compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. The team joined the American ...

. Campbell was selected by the Mariners in the second round of the

2019 MLB draft The 2019 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 3 to 5, 2019. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order was set based on the reverse order of the 2018 MLB season standings. In addition, compensation picks ...

Amateur career

Campbell was born in Portugal, where his father was stationed while serving in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

, but grew up in Kansas and attended

Olathe South High School Olathe South High School is a public high school located in Olathe, Kansas, United States, serving students in grades 9-12. The school is one of five high schools in the Olathe USD 233 school district. The average annual enrollment at Olathe S ...

Olathe, Kansas Olathe ( ) is the county seat of Johnson County, Kansas, United States. It is the List of cities in Kansas#Highest population listing, fourth-most populous city in both the Kansas City metropolitan area and the state of Kansas, with a 2020 Uni ...

. As a senior, he compiled a 5–1

win–loss record Win–loss may refer to: * Win–loss analytics, analysis of the reasons why a visitor to a website was or wasn't persuaded to engage in a desired action * Win–loss record, also winning percentage * Win–loss record (pitching), the number of ...

with a 1.66

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA). He struck out 42 batters in

innings pitched In baseball, the statistic innings pitched (IP) is the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of Batter (baseball), batters and baserunners that have been put out while the pitcher is on the Baseball field#Pitcher's mou ...

. Campbell made six starts and 13 appearances for the

Arkansas Razorbacks The Arkansas Razorbacks, also known as the Hogs, are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletics teams representing the University of Arkansas, located in Fayetteville, Arkansas, Fayetteville. The University of Arkans ...

as a true freshman. He had 23 strikeouts in innings pitched while going 3–1 with a 3.69 ERA. He was also named to the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

(SEC) First Year Academic Honor Roll. His sophomore season in 2017 was cut short after just of an inning due to an elbow injury, for which he was granted a

medical redshirt Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

. He helped the Razorbacks to the 2018 College World Series final, winning the game in the semi-final that allowed them to advance to the final. That season, he appeared in 18 games, making 17 starts, including four in the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

tournament and two in the College World Series. After the 2018 season, Campbell was drafted by the

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, ...

in the 24th round of the

2018 MLB draft The 2018 Major League Baseball draft began on June 4, 2018. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order was determined based on the reverse order of the 2017 MLB season final standings. In addition, compensation pi ...

, but opted to return to college for his junior season. In 2019, he had his best season yet, making 18 starts, striking out 125 batters in innings and going 12–1 with a 2.13 ERA. The Razorbacks reached the

2019 College World Series The 2019 NCAA Division I baseball tournament was a tournament of 64-teams to determine the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I national champion for the 2019 season. The 73rd annual edition of the tournament began on May ...

but were eliminated in the first round by

Florida State Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

Professional career

Seattle Mariners

Campbell was drafted by the

in the second round, with the 76th overall selection, of the

2019 Major League Baseball draft The 2019 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 3 to 5, 2019. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order was set based on the reverse order of the 2018 MLB season standings. In addition, compensation picks ...

. Campbell signed with the Mariners for an $850,000 signing bonus. He did not play professionally that season, and did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. Campbell made his professional debut in 2021 with the

Everett AquaSox The Everett AquaSox are a Minor League Baseball team in Everett, Washington. The team is a member of the Northwest League and is the High-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. The AquaSox play their home games at Funko Field, which has a seatin ...

High-A West The Northwest League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Northwestern United States and Western Canada. A Class A Short Season league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball ...

, pitching innings and going 3–1 with a 2.33 ERA. His season ended prematurely after undergoing elbow surgery. He began the 2022 season as a starting pitcher, but continued to experience elbow discomfort after his first four games, and he was placed on the injured list again. After Campbell's return, the Mariners converted him to a relief pitcher to minimize the stress on his elbow, and Campbell thrived in his new role, giving up only an unearned run on eight hits and a walk while striking out 20 in 15 innings for the AquaSox. This performance earned Campbell a promotion to Double-A with the

Arkansas Travelers The Arkansas Travelers, known informally as The Travs, are a Minor League Baseball team based in North Little Rock, Arkansas. The Travelers are the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners and play in the Texas League. Hi ...

in August. With Arkansas in 2022, he pitched to a 3.46 ERA and struck out 24 batters while walking only two. On November 15, 2022, the Mariners added Campbell to their

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, an ...

to protect him from the

Rule 5 draft The Rule 5 draft is a Major League Baseball (MLB) player draft that occurs each year in December, at the annual Winter Meeting of general managers. The Rule 5 draft aims to prevent teams from stockpiling too many young players on their minor lea ...

. Campbell was optioned to the Double-A Travelers to begin the 2023 season. In 23 games to begin the season, he went 6–0 with a 2.63 ERA, 27 strikeouts, and 2 saves in 24.0 innings of work. On July 6, 2023, Campbell was promoted to the major leagues for the first time. He made his debut on July 7 by throwing a scoreless inning with one strikeout. This made Campbell only the second Portuguese-born player to appear in the major leagues, and the first since

Frank Thompson Frank Thompson Jr. (July 26, 1918 – July 22, 1989) was an American politician. He represented in the United States House of Representatives as a Democratic Party (United States), Democrat from 1955 to 1980, and was chairman of the United Sta ...

, who played twelve games in 1875. After making three appearances in total and recording six strikeouts, Campbell was sent back down to Double-A on July 19. He was called back up three days later, and garnered his first major league victory against the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...

. Overall, Campbell appeared in 27 major-league games with the Mariners, all in relief, compiling a 4–1 record with a 2.83 ERA and one save.

Boston Red Sox

On November 17, 2023, Campbell was traded to the

in exchange for infielder Luis Urías. He made 8 appearances for Boston in 2024, struggling to a 16.20 ERA with 6 strikeouts over innings pitched. While on optional assignment with the Triple–A

Worcester Red Sox The Worcester Red Sox (nicknamed the WooSox) are a professional minor league baseball team based in Worcester, Massachusetts. Beginning play in 2021, the team is the Triple-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox, succeeding the Pawtucket Red Sox. Th ...

, Campbell was placed on the injured list with right elbow inflammation on July 23, 2024. He was transferred to the 60–day injured list on September 7, ending his season. Campbell was designated for assignment by Boston on November 19. On November 22, the Red Sox non–tendered Campbell, making him a free agent. He re–signed with the organization on a minor-league contract the same day. Campbell began the 2025 season with Triple-A Worcester, registering a 5–4 record and 3.89 ERA with 33 strikeouts and seven saves over 30 relief outings. On July 8, 2025, the Red Sox selected Campbell's contract, adding him to their active roster.

References

External links

Arkansas Razorbacks bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Campbell, Isaiah 1997 births Living people Arkansas Razorbacks baseball players Arkansas Travelers players Baseball players from Kansas Boston Red Sox players Everett AquaSox players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from Portugal People from Angra do Heroísmo Sportspeople from the Azores Seattle Mariners players Worcester Red Sox players