With Triston Casas out for the season with a ruptured patellar tendon, the Boston Red Sox must act quickly to replace him at first base.
For now, Romy Gonzalez and Abraham Toro will spend time at first while chief baseball officer Craig Breslow and Co. ponder how to proceed. The duo offers a decent short-term solution, but Boston should consider shifting its infield around or adding an external option to maximize the talent on the roster.
So, what are the Red Sox' best first base options following the Casas injury? We ranked them below from best to worst:
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SIGN UP HERE 1. Rafael Devers
Devers made his thoughts on switching positions abundantly clear during spring training.
"I play third," he said when asked about a potential move to designated hitter with Gold Glove third baseman Alex Bregman in the mix.
Despite Devers' defiance, manager Alex Cora made him the DH, and Bregman replaced him at the hot corner. With Casas done for the year, Cora may need to have another difficult conversation with his veteran slugger.
Moving Devers again -- this time to first base -- makes the most sense on paper. It would open the DH spot for Masataka Yoshida, who hasn't played this season due to a shoulder injury that affects his fielding, but not his hitting. If Yoshida isn't ready, perhaps top prospect Roman Anthony could assume the role in his first taste of the big leagues. Having an open slot at DH could help unclog the roster logjams that have prevented Anthony and fellow top prospect Marcelo Mayer from reaching the majors.
So, should we expect Devers to make another position change soon?
“From my end right now, no," Cora said. "We asked him to do something in Spring Training. In the beginning, he didn't agree with it, and now he's very comfortable doing what he's doing. So like I told you guys in Spring Training, he’s my DH.”
Well, so much for that. But what about their Rookie of the Year candidate?...
2. Kristian Campbell
Ideally, the Red Sox would keep Campbell at second base to avoid any potential setbacks in his development as a rookie. Unfortunately, their lack of first base options has put them in a less-than-ideal situation.
Campbell has been outstanding through the first 30 games of his MLB career. The 22-year-old is hitting .290/.394/.477 with four homers and 12 RBI. He was named the American League Rookie of the Month for March and April.
If there's anything to nitpick about Campbell's game thus far, it's his below-average defense. He hasn't impressed at second base and has been even worse when asked to play the outfield.
Since Boston wouldn't lose any defensive value at second base, having Campbell lean to play first base is worth a shot. He looks the part at 6-foot-3 and, as a hungry rookie who already inked an eight-year extension, is seemingly willing to do whatever the team asks.
Plus, moving Campbell to first base would clear the path for Marcelo Mayer to earn a call to The Show. The Red Sox could have Mayer replace Campbell up the middle, or keep him at shortstop with Trevor Story moving to second base.
It isn't the most likely option on our list, but it's certainly one of the most intriguing.
3. Look outside the organization
If the Red Sox aren't willing to move Devers, Campbell, or anyone else on their active roster to first base, it's time to look at external options.
On the free-agent market, Anthony Rizzo is the name that stands out. But at 35 years old and coming off an injury-plagued 2024, it's unclear if the three-time All-Star is in playing shape -- or if he even wants to play in 2025. If he's ready to contribute, he'd be an obvious fit.
Among the most sensible trade options are Dominic Smith (New York Yankees), Jon Singleton (New York Mets), and Justin Turner (Chicago Cubs). Smith and Singleton have spent this season at Triple-A, and Turner has primarily come off the bench for Chicago.
Smith was a fan favorite during his 84-game stint with Boston last year, posting a .706 OPS. Singleton has a .923 OPS in Triple-A but has no path to playing time in Queens with Pete Alonso at first base. Turner is in the twilight of his career at age 40, but his veteran leadership was evident during his time with the club in 2023.
These are just a few of the potential first base fits for Boston outside the organization. There are more where that came from, and chief baseball officer Craig Breslow should be calling teams about potential deals.
4. Stick with Romy Gonzalez and Abraham Toro
Until they figure out how to proceed, the Red Sox' internal first base options are Romy Gonzalez and offseason addition Abraham Toro. While they should be exploring other options, it wouldn't be a total surprise to see a Gonzalez/Toro platoon for as long as they provide league-average production.
The right-handed-hitting Gonzalez is slashing .327/.382/.449 with reverse splits (.908 OPS against right-handers, .707 OPS against left-handers) in 16 games. He'll make the occasional defensive blunder at first, but Casas wasn't exactly a Gold Glover.
Toro is a utility infielder with some MLB experience at first, and he'll make his first Red Sox start at the position in Tuesday's series opener vs. Texas. He's a career .219 hitter across seven big-league seasons (366 games).
This tandem isn't a terrible short-term solution, but Boston shouldn't settle on this being its first base situation for the next five months.
5. Vaughn Grissom
The Red Sox bet on Grissom's upside when they acquired him from the Atlanta Braves in exchange for Chris Sale, who went on to win the National League Cy Young award. To say that the deal has aged poorly would be a massive understatement, as Grissom has only continued to disappoint in Boston.
That said, Grissom is only 24 years old and has put up decent numbers at the plate over the last two years in Worcester. The WooSox have experimented with him at first base, though he committed two errors in his five games at the position.
It isn't the best option, but the Red Sox could give Grissom one last opportunity to prove himself at the big-league level by seeing whether he can take the first base job and run with it.
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6. Connor Wong or Blake Sabol
This is undoubtedly the least exciting option on the list, but we had to include it since both catchers have experience at first base. The Red Sox could call up veteran backstop Yasmani Grandal and move either Wong or Sabol -- two poor defensive catchers -- to first.
7. Roman Anthony or Marcelo Mayer
We're only including Anthony and Mayer because of the recent chatter about them switching to first base. It was a shortsighted suggestion to begin with, but Breslow poured more cold water on the possibility of either top prospect replacing Casas.
“It doesn't seem like that's in the plans right now,” he said. “I think both of those guys, obviously, are showing the ability to impact both sides of the ball. But given the bright futures that they have ahead of them at their respective positions, introducing additional variables doesn't make a ton of sense right now.”
Anthony is an outfielder, Mayer is a shortstop with some experience at second and third. Neither has played first base in their professional careers, and that isn't going to change any time soon.
If Anthony and/or Mayer are called up to the majors, it may be because Devers, Campbell, or another player on the active roster made the switch to first. It won't be because they're Boston's new first baseman.