FORT MYERS, Fla. — The Boston Red Sox open their season at the Texas Rangers in 20 days, and time is running out for outfielder Wilyer Abreu to make the Opening Day roster.

The outfielder reported to camp at the end of February with a gastrointestinal illness that kept him away and resulted in weight and strength loss. Though he has returned to workouts with the outfielders before games, he still isn’t swinging a bat, and there’s no timetable for him to play in his first game.

The natural assumption might be that outfielder Roman Anthony, the No. 1 prospect in baseball, per The Athletic’s Keith Law, is a front-runner to take Abreu’s spot and make his big-league debut in Boston’s opener against the Rangers on March 27. But manager Alex Cora didn’t rule out another possibility to fill the outfield hole presented by Abreu’s likely absence: Kristian Campbell.

Campbell, Law’s No. 9 overall prospect, hit .330 with a .997 OPS across 115 games at three minor-league levels last season, culminating in a promotion to Triple A in late August. A defensively versatile player, Campbell split time among second base (36 games), shortstop (26 games) and center field (25 games) in 2024, but with a big-league vacancy at second base to start spring training, Campbell was seen as a top contender for that job alongside Vaughn Grissom, with David Hamilton in the mix as well.

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This spring, though, Campbell has played 20 innings at second base and 21 innings in left field, starting each of his last four games in left while starting at second just twice earlier in camp. He has entered as a defensive replacement at second in four other games, and Cora said he expects Campbell to start there Saturday against the Minnesota Twins.

Asked Friday whether Abreu’s illness and lack of play have factored into why Campbell has spent more time in the outfield of late, Cora at first said several things contributed to it, before adding more context.

“I think actually with everything that is going on, him getting reps in the outfield helps,” Cora said. “Being around (outfielders coach Kyle Hudson) helps a lot. For me, Huddy is one of the best, if not the best, at what he does. And the attention to detail and just being away from the group and having (those) one-on-one conversations with Huddy in the outfield, Campbell will be fine.

“We’re not worried about him at second base. I think he’ll get his reps after the off day (Monday), but playing the outfield is something that I really want him to do, especially with everything that’s going on.”

Friday, Campbell was supposed to be working with the infielders, according to the daily schedule of pregame work posted on a bulletin board in the clubhouse. Instead, Campbell was inside the stadium working with Hudson and the outfielders on balls off the wall and reads off the bat. Hudson said Campbell had gotten turf work done earlier in the day with infielders coach Jose Flores, but there’s an emphasis on keeping Campbell versatile enough should he be needed in the outfield to start the season.

Hudson said his biggest area of focus with Campbell in the outfield has been getting him to move more naturally forward and backward at the outset of a play as opposed to laterally, as he does in the infield.

“I think just getting him out there, getting him familiar with the movements, the techniques and all that kind of stuff,” Hudson said, acknowledging the faster pace of games at the big-league level compared to the minors. “He’s super athletic, super physical. That doesn’t always mean that he’s going to be very clean fundamentally and technique-wise.”

As for Anthony, Hudson noted the 20-year-old also has work to do, particularly on his pre-pitch setup so he can get better jumps and reads off the bat.

“Sometimes he comes up in between. (A better setup is) going to put himself in the position to complete the play, and so there’s been a lot of focus on those pre-pitches,” Hudson said.

Cameras in the stadium have helped Hudson evaluate both outfielders’ reactions to the balls and even watch what they do in between pitches so he can study their routines and help them prepare better.

By a quick look at the numbers, Anthony appears to be having a better offensive spring than Campbell, going 4-for-13 (.308) in six games compared to Campbell’s 2-for-21 (.095) in nine games. Campbell started by going 0-for-12 with eight strikeouts, but he collected two hits and two walks over the past week. But teams rarely read into such small samples at the plate, particularly when so many at-bats are against minor-league pitchers as big leaguers build up innings.

Anthony has also missed the past week with an illness alongside a few other teammates, including Marcelo Mayer and Triston Casas. Mayer returned to workouts Friday, and Anthony is due back Saturday. Casas remains out.

With Campbell seeing more outfield time, Grissom, who missed most of last season with an injury and illness, has logged the most innings at second base of any player vying for the position. Alex Bregman, meanwhile, has played only third base this spring as Rafael Devers continues to build up shoulder strength.

Cora originally planned for Devers to appear in his first game this past week, but Devers felt he wasn’t ready. Devers faced Tanner Houck in live batting practice Friday, and Cora expects Devers to appear in a game as designated hitter Tuesday or Wednesday.

All spring Cora has talked about the versatility of his roster, and Campbell’s ability to play second base and the outfield might give him an edge over Anthony as Abreu builds back strength.

Cora noted Abreu has been tracking pitches on the Trajekt machine (which simulates live at-bats) but has not been cleared to swing, seemingly still building up strength from his illness. When it was suggested that Abreu is pretty far behind, Cora agreed, noting the medical staff has been monitoring Abreu’s lab work and has not yet cleared him even for live batting practice.

There’s one scenario in which Devers begins the season mostly as DH as he builds up time at third base. Bregman could be the primary third baseman with Grissom at second and Campbell and Rob Refsnyder filling in, in the outfield.

Ceddanne Rafaela, the club’s strongest defensive outfielder, could play the notoriously difficult right field at Fenway Park, with Jarren Duran in center and Campbell or Refsnyder in left. Masataka Yoshida has been serving as DH in spring games but is still working his way back from offseason shoulder surgery and has not started throwing. He could begin the season on the injury list.

As Abreu’s health remains in question and Devers has yet to play in a game, two other players took a step in the right direction Friday.

Trevor Story, who missed most of last season after fracturing his shoulder in April, homered twice in Friday’s game, his first two homers of the spring. Five of his 10 hits have been for extra bases.

Meanwhile, Garrett Whitlock pitched in his first game since an internal brace procedure in May. He threw 18 pitches with 12 strikes. His first batter reached on a comebacker to the mound before Whitlock struck out the next batter on a slider. He allowed a double, then got two groundouts to finish the inning and was pleased with his return to the mound. As he prepares for his role back in the bullpen, he has a progression mapped out over the next few weeks, including a couple of multi-inning stints so he’ll be ready for the opener.

Plenty of roster questions remain, not only about who will make the cut in three weeks but also where they will be playing, and the club’s two top prospects remain in the mix.