Ever since Triston Casas went down with a season-ending knee injury, speculation has run rampant that Rafael Devers could fill the void at first base. Yet while the move makes some sense on paper, Devers has publicly expressed his opposition to the idea and manager Alex Cora has insisted the club will stick with Romy Gonzalez and Abraham Toro for now.

Maybe things will change and Devers will eventually prove to be the solution, but suppose we take Cora at his word and the slugger remains at DH. What other options could the Red Sox have?

It’s a trickier question than it might seem at first glance.

So let’s run down the list of possibilities, starting with the home run swings that are definitely not going to happen down to the realistic options who actually could help the Red Sox out, plus everyone in between.

Mets slugger Pete Alonso is the best possible first baseman the Red Sox could acquire to fill the void left by Triston Casas. Fans probably shouldn’t count on seeing him in Boston. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Don’t hold your breath

The biggest home run for the Red Sox would be acquiring Pete Alonso. The New York Mets slugger has been among the best hitters in baseball, and as of this writing he’s batting .324 with nine home runs, 34 RBI and a 1.069 OPS. He’s also expected to hit free agency again this winter, so you could probably talk yourself into him maybe not being as costly to obtain as a pure rental than some others with multiple years of team control.

Alright, let’s wake up and come back to the real world.

There is no chance New York trades Alonso. The Mets have one of the best records in baseball and have World Series aspirations. Why would they trade their best hitter, even if the potential return was something outrageous like Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer and others? The Mets didn’t just sign Juan Soto to the largest deal in baseball history to try and kick the can down the road.

We can similarly rule out Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who just inked a 14-year, $500 million contract to stay with the Toronto Blue Jays, along with guys like Freddie Freeman, Bryce Harper, Matt Olson and Christian Walker. Cross them off the list, it ain’t going to happen.

Paul Goldschmidt would be a perfect fit for Boston as a fill-in first baseman, but would the Yankees swing a deal with their biggest rival? Likely not. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

Maybe, but probably not

These guys aren’t as untouchable as the stars in the above category, but because they play prominent roles on playoff contenders or because they’re with division rivals, they probably won’t be options for Boston either.

Let’s start within the division. Paul Goldschmidt is 37 and on a one-year deal, but he’s been hitting the ball well and the Yankees are in first place. Not going to happen. Ryan Mountcastle has been OK and the Orioles have been disappointing, but Baltimore still aspires to contend and isn’t going to sell to an AL East rival.

How about across the American League? The Tigers have two solid first basemen in Spencer Torkelson and Colt Keith, but they also have the best record in the AL. The Royals are back in the AL Central hunt and likely won’t part ways with Vinnie Pasquantino, and the Twins probably aren’t in a position to move Ty France. The Athletics are in an interesting spot with Tyler Soderstrom and top prospect Nick Kurtz at first, but they also came into the weekend with a winning record and little incentive to move either promising young player.

Others in the National League who likely fall into this category include Michael Busch with the Cubs, Rhys Hoskins with the Brewers, Josh Naylor with the Diamondbacks and Luis Arraez with the Padres.

Jake Burger has massively underperformed since joining the Texas Rangers this past offseason. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Thanks but no thanks

If the Red Sox wanted to swing an emergency trade this far out from the deadline, their most willing partners would probably be teams who are at the bottom of the standings. The problem is most of those teams don’t have first basemen who would meaningfully move the needle in Boston.

The White Sox have primarily started Andrew Vaughn, whose -1.2 wins above replacement ranks among the worst in MLB. The Rockies start Michael Toglia, who has also been sub-replacement level. The Pirates start Enmanuel Valdez at first, who the Red Sox just traded away this past winter for a Single-A pitching prospect. The Angels rely on Nolan Schanuel, who isn’t as good as Gonzalez, and the Marlins have gone with both Eric Wagaman and Matt Mervis, neither of whom have been productive.

Two others the Red Sox should steer clear of are Jake Burger and Josh Bell. Burger joined the Rangers this past winter in a trade and was supposed to provide an additional power bat in the heart of the order, but after hitting 63 home runs in the last two seasons he struggled massively out of the gate and was recently demoted to Triple-A. Bell has similarly struggled in his second stint with the Nationals, and is now on track to post his third consecutive season with a negative WAR.

Maybe you could justify Burger as a reclamation project, but considering how often he strikes out and how little he walks, that would be a risky proposition if he can’t get the barrel on the ball.

The St. Louis Cardinals are looking to begin a rebuild and Willson Contreras is one of their highest-paid players. Would the Red Sox consider trying to bring him aboard? (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Reds or Redbirds?

There are two clubs that stand out as obvious trade partners for the Red Sox, the Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Cardinals. Both clubs boast multiple first basemen, including some who would represent meaningful upgrades for Boston, and both clubs are not expected to contend in a loaded National League.

The Reds have been using three players at first base, Spencer Steer, Christian Encarnacion-Strand and Jeimer Candelario. Steer has seen the most time of the three and has enjoyed a productive start to his career, finishing sixth in the Rookie of the Year vote in 2023 before posting a 20-20 season last year. But he’s gotten off to a tough start in 2025, batting .189 with a .550 OPS.

Encarnacion-Strand has battled injuries throughout his career and is currently on the IL with a lower back injury, and Candelario has been a massive disappointment since signing a three-year, $45 million deal prior to 2024.

The Red Sox shouldn’t consider Candelario, but Steer and Encarnacion-Strand each might represent decent buy-low opportunities, particularly once the latter returns from injury.

As for the Cardinals, they have Willson Contreras and Alec Burleson at first base but have made no secret their desire to begin a long-term rebuild. Contreras is in the third year of his five-year, $87.5 million deal and has been an above-average offensive producer throughout his career. The Cardinals would probably be interested in moving his contract, and while the Red Sox surely wouldn’t be interested in that money, maybe this is a case where they could swap Contreras for Masataka Yoshida (and his similar contract), with the Red Sox likely tossing a prospect in to get the deal over the finish line.

Or, they could just acquire Burleson, who hit 21 home runs last season and probably won’t be part of St. Louis’ long-term plans.

Washington’s Nathaniel Lowe is probably among the best attainable first baseman the Red Sox could potentially pursue. (AP Photo/Daniel Kucin Jr.)

Intriguing and attainable

So who are actually the best fits that the Red Sox could realistically acquire?

I would argue Boston’s first call should be to Cleveland about Carlos Santana. The 39-year-old is still producing at a respectable level, walks a ton and is on an expiring contract. The Guardians also have Kyle Manzardo splitting time between first and DH, along with a top-100 first base prospect in C.J. Kayfus. He’d be a perfect fit.

If not Santana, another good option would be Nathaniel Lowe. The 29-year-old has gotten off to a strong start, batting .255 with six home runs and a .772 OPS, and would fill Casas’ void as a left-handed hitter. He also has two years of team control remaining, and given that Washington looks consigned to another fourth-place finish, they surely wouldn’t mind picking up a prospect for a guy who’ll likely leave in free agency after 2026 anyway.

How about Rowdy Tellez? The legendary Red Sox killer has shown time and time again how much he likes playing at Fenway Park. It might be hard for Seattle to justify given how bad Donovan Solano has been, but Tellez isn’t exactly a foundational piece.

Tampa Bay has a couple of interesting options. Jonathan Aranda has been terrific and Yandy Diaz has an established track record even though he’s primarily played DH. The Rays are a division rival, which makes a deal less likely, but Tampa Bay also has 24-year-old Curtis Mead and two top-100 first base prospects coming up. Perhaps that could help the Red Sox pry one of Aranda or Diaz away?

Others who might be worth a look include Milwaukee’s Jake Bauers, who has bounced around a bunch but who is posting some of the best offensive numbers of his career so far while backing up Rhys Hoskins. San Francisco’s LaMonte Wade Jr. has gotten off to a terrible start, but he’s posted quality numbers the last two seasons and the Giants have a top first base prospect nearing the majors in Bryce Eldridge.

What about Mark Canha? The 36-year-old hasn’t gotten many at bats with Kansas City, but he’s made the most of the opportunities he’s had. The Red Sox could also seek a reunion with Justin Turner. We already know how well respected he is in the Red Sox clubhouse, though his production and playing time with the Cubs have really fallen off at age 40.

It will be interesting to see who the Red Sox eventually bring in, but no matter what path the club chooses, standing pat shouldn’t be an option.