Why Red Sox Have Failed To Trade For New 1st Baseman, Per Insider

It's not as simple as a wave of the magic wand...

Dec 9, 2024; Dallas, TX, USA; Boston Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow speaks with the media at the Hilton Anatole during the 2024 MLB Winter Meetings. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

It's been just over two weeks since first baseman Triston Casas went down with a torn patellar tendon, but it's felt like an eternity for the Boston Red Sox.

With Casas done for the rest of the regular season, there was plenty of drama around Rafael Devers' public refusal to play first base. And now it looks as though rookie Kristian Campbell will try to learn the position on the fly, possibly opening up second base for top prospect Marcelo Mayer.

However, the fact remains that for 14 games since Casas' injury (including Sunday), the Red Sox have rolled out either Abraham Toro, Romy González, or Nick Sogard at first base. Those are useful depth players, but not good enough hitters to justify a starting role at an offense-first position.

The sentiment that the Red Sox should be trying to land a new first baseman with big-league pedigree on the trade market is a sensible one. However, there's also a fairly simple explanation as to why it hasn't happened.

On Sunday, Sean McAdam of MassLive shared that the Red Sox have been looking around for that first baseman, but no other teams have been willing enough to part with their starters at the position over two months in advance of the trade deadline.

"The Red Sox have made a number of inquiries around the game in search of an alternative at first base," McAdam wrote. "Predictably, they’ve hit the expected roadblocks: teams are either not ready to wave the white flag by trading away valuable assets; or, the asking price is roughly twice what it might be at the July trade deadline."

Who could the Red Sox be after? Well, this is mostly speculation, but there's been buzz around veteran Rhys Hoskins, whose Milwaukee Brewers are languishing in fourth place in the National League Central. Nathaniel Lowe of the 20-27 Washington Nationals is another interesting option.

The Red Sox won't likely find a bat like Hoskins or Lowe until July, when their teams will be a bit more willing to drop the price tags. So for now, it's either continuing to stick it out with the Toros and Sogards of the world, or moving Campbell over to the corner sooner rather than later.

More MLB: Red Sox Predicted To Trade For $34 Million Brewers Slugger Amid 1B Uncertainty