Kristian Campbell’s offseason development is a critical storyline for the Boston Red Sox.

Depending on what the Red Sox do in free agency, Campbell could be asked to play a big role next year. And knowing that they’ve invested $60 million in him already, one has to imagine the Sox will give Campbell every chance to prove himself at some point in the near future.

But after a wretched May and early June and his demotion to Triple-A for the rest of the season, it’s clear Campbell isn’t where the Red Sox were hoping he’d be by this moment. The offseason is a blank slate, but how the Red Sox choose to have him prepare for next season could have benefits and drawbacks.

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Campbell headed to winter ball?

During the general managers’ meetings this week, chief baseball officer Craig Breslow floated an interesting possibility for Campbell: playing winter ball, likely in one of the well-known leagues like the Dominican or Venezuelan Winter Leagues.

“It’s a conversation, and it is a conversation that he obviously will be a part of, so don’t want to get too far out in front of that,” said Breslow, per Alex Speier of the Boston Globe. “But we’ve talked about working backward from, what are we hoping to accomplish? And that is obviously positioning Kristian coming into spring training as prepared as possible to contribute. And that could take a number of paths.

“It could be committing to the training that has been really successful for him in the past, and getting bigger and stronger in a familiar environment. It could also be pushing him and challenging him with more game play and developing some of the situational game-awareness elements. That conversation is ongoing. We’re going to loop him into it.”

As they decide whether to keep him at second base or in the outfield long-term, winter ball could be a valuable way for Campbell to challenge himself against the types of pitches he struggled with during his major league stint, while getting more comfortable on defense simultaneously.

But more games can also mean more wear and tear, and as the Red Sox’s stated goal for Campbell this winter is to bulk him up for the long season ahead, playing games nearly every day could be somewhat counterproductive to work in the weight room.