The Red Sox lost first baseman Triston Casas to a season-ending knee injury earlier this week and quickly selected Abraham Toro’s contract to the big league roster. The switch-hitting Toro and righty-swinging Romy Gonzalez appear set to share time at the position for the time being, although the Casas injury immediately prompted speculation about a potential move to first base for Rafael Devers. Manager Alex Cora told the Red Sox beat last night that there’s been no discussion of a role change for the third baseman-turned-DH (link via Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic).
“We got these two guys (Gonzalez and Toro) here, Toro starting today,” Cora said prior to last night’s loss. “Romy has done an amazing job in the starts over there so we’ll keep going that way.”
Cora followed up today in an appearance on WEEI radio, repeating that Devers is a DH for the time being but taking a slightly softer stance on the possibility of an eventual position change (link via WEEI’s Tom Carroll).
“We asked him to do something in spring training that, as you guys know, he didn’t agree with in the beginning,” said Cora. “And then little by little, he has embraced it because he knows the quality of the player that we have at third base and where we’re at as a team. … I’m not saying we’ll never have that conversation [about moving to first base], but I think for now, where we’re at, I like Raffy as a DH.”
Within that WEEI appearance, Cora again praised the season that Gonzalez has put together thus far. There’s no denying that the 28-year-old has excelled in the early stages of the 2025 season. He’s hitting .327/.382/.449 in 55 trips to the plate, although that small-sample production is buoyed by a .421 average on balls in play. Gonzalez is averaging 94.1 mph off the bat and has seen 58% of his batted balls depart at 95 mph or more.
It’s a strong profile, but one that is preceded by minimal track record. Gonzalez is in his fifth major league season and entered 2025 as a .242/.271/.387 hitter. He’s always hit lefties well (.281/.329/.465), but right-handers have long been a problem. That hasn’t been the case this year, and Cora’s comments seem to suggest he’ll at least get some runway to prove he’s made some real gains.
Toro, also 28, has a similar track record to that of Gonzalez. He’s a career .220/.285/.352 hitter who’s now seeing action in his seventh MLB campaign. He’s bounced around the league more (Astros, Mariners, Brewers, A’s) and has a strong Triple-A track record but limited success in the majors. Cora noted that Toro “put [together] some good at-bats” in his Red Sox debut yesterday, when he went 1-for-4 with a single.
The combination of Gonzalez and Toro, whether in a traditional platoon or a more selective timeshare, doesn’t feel like a feasible long-term option, but it’s understandable to hear a team’s manager voice confidence in the options he presently has on the roster. That said, chief baseball officer Craig Breslow took a more open-minded stance to the team’s first base void, telling NESN’s Tom Caron prior to the game that the Sox “need to be willing to put all idea and options on the table” and “uncover every rock” to make the team as competitive as possible (hat tip to the Boston Globe’s Peter Abraham).
The case for moving Devers to first base is one that we discussed on this morning’s MLBTR podcast episode. MLBTR owner Tim Dierkes also touched on it in today’s mailbag. That switch would open DH at-bats for the return of Masataka Yoshida, or it could help facilitate a big league promotion for Roman Anthony, who is widely ranked as the game’s No. 1 overall prospect. Anthony could join Jarren Duran and Wilyer Abreu in cycling through the outfield and DH spots. He’s hitting .294/.410/.495 with five homers as a 20-year-old in Triple-A. Dating back to last year, Anthony has slashed .321/.440/.508 in 298 Triple-A plate appearances — all before even turning 21.
The 31-year-old Yoshida, meanwhile, has been out all season while recovering from October surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right (throwing) shoulder. Yoshida spoke with the Red Sox beat yesterday and said through an interpreter that hitting is “no problem” but that he’s still feeling discomfort when throwing (video link via NESN). He received a cortisone injection three days ago and will be shut down from throwing for at least another couple days while that takes effect. The Red Sox have no plans to activate Yoshida until he is able to play in the outfield, per Abraham.
Devers’ move from third base to DH was a major storyline in spring training and led to plenty of hand-wringing early in the season when he went through one of the worst stretches of his career at the plate. That panic looks silly in retrospect, as Devers struggled for all of one week and has hit .292/.404/.508 since the calendar flipped to April. His lack of experience at first base is an obvious consideration in any scenario, but the current tandem of Gonzalez and Toro have relatively limited experience there themselves: 319 innings for Gonzalez and 353 for Toro.
There’s no perfect solution. The Red Sox will likely be getting sub-par defense at first base whichever route they take. Playing Devers there could free up DH at-bats for Yoshida or open a clearer path to get Anthony to the majors. For the time being, they’re sticking with Devers at designated hitter and seeing what they have in Toro and Gonzalez.
Run production has been an issue over the past week as the Red Sox have dropped five of six games, and even looking at the past month (i.e. excluding Devers’ early slump) they’ve been a league-average offense on a rate basis and sit 15th in the majors in runs scored. If Boston’s rotation continues to struggle as it has over the past two weeks (24th in MLB with a 4.76 ERA), or if Gonzalez and Toro play closer to their career levels in the weeks ahead, one would imagine the Sox will more seriously consider changes to get more offensive firepower into the lineup.
They’re counting on Toro? That’s some bull.
Monkey – Toro will mow down the competition for the starting first base job!
Fever,
I’m sure Mo Vaughn is available to play 1B for you guys lol
Acoss – Here’s a little tip ……
Mo is in the exact same town as FSG and FSM.
It wouldn’t be very difficult to meet with him ;O)
Athletic is reporting they’ve signed Rizzo. You’re welcome. Ahahahahaha
Athletic hasn’t reported that yet but the times of india did.. Nice try though
Toro took a couple of shots to LF last night trying to use the monster. Unfortunately he learned what a “Fenway Single” is when Langford threw him out by 20 feet at 2B. Neither Toro or Gonzalez is the answer for the entire season if this team sees itself as a contender. Either move someone to 1B (Devers? Bregman? Story? Yoshida?) or go get someone (preferably something better than the Dom Smith/Garrett Cooper duo from last season)
Rsox – Yes I noticed that as well, how could Toro not realize a ball off the monster isn’t a guaranteed double? JetBlue Park was built as a mini-Fenway to help players become familiar with Fenway, and Toro got a LOT of playing time there this past ST.
Speaking of Langford, he made some fantastic defensive plays. The guy has serious leather.
I like Romy as a solid bench player, but what many people don’t realize is he’s been often-injured throughout his career. Can he physically hold up as a fulltime player? Time will tell.
The left hand hitting Yoshida should be taking ground balls at 1B and learning the nuances of the position.
What difference does it make that he is a left handed hitter?
I assume it has to do with theoretically platooning with Romy Gonzalez at first. Romy has pretty strong career numbers vs. LHP, but isn’t so good against righties. So Yoshida’s left-handedness would cover that side of the platoon.
Meow – You’re right about Romy, but he’s actually done well against RHP this year and in fact tonight he’s starting at first base against one of the toughest RHP in the game.
I wouldn’t be against Yoshida taking first base reps for a couple weeks and then trying out in a game, but the odds are against him because of his small stature and lack of infield experience.
I’m not partial to Yoshida at first, but I assume that’s what OP of this particular thread was going for.
And while I’m happy for Romy that he’s hit RHP well so far this season, that’s a sample of 30 ABs where he’s benefitted from a .458 BABIP. Even with some improvement, I don’t anticipate him massively outplaying his .226/.243/.333 career line against righties in a fuller sample. He’s just not a real long-term 1B solution imo.
Meow – Agreed, but it seems like the Red Sox will try to make him one. Or more likely have him as part of a platoon.
All we can do is cross our fingers and hope for the best. They’ve stumbled on good fortune in the past, maybe they will again.
At 5′-8″ Yoshida would be something to watch at 1b. $50/yr between him and Devers and neither seems to gaf about what the team needs at any time.
Call the Jays and ask for Vlad Jr. Sure, defense might not be great but no one cares about defense anymore in MLB. If you make an error, at least you have a chance to take back those runs with a grand slam in the bottom of the 9th with 2 out and a 3-2 count.
York – I like your idea, but the Jays would have to eat about $300M of his extension.
You think it’s doable though, right?
@Fever Pitch Guy
Sure. Jays aren’t doing much this year or in the next 30 years so might as well help out their AL East brother.
Kristian Campbell again made an inaccurate throw from 2B to 1B last night and I will continue banging the drum for his move to 1B until it happens, because it’s the most sensible move for both the Red Sox and Campbell. He is already hitting at an all-star caliber 1B level, is as fast or faster on the bases as any 1B in both leagues, is long and lean at 6’3″, 210, and could develop into a GG defender given experience. Moving him would open a spot for Marcelo Mayer or Roman Anthony. Come on Breslow! Make it happen!
Form – Wouldn’t that be filling a small hole (1B) by creating a much bigger hole (2B)?
Yeah sorry that doesn’t make sense unless they call up Mayer and either he or Story play 2B.
He suggested they call up Mayer. Mayer is ready to play not sure why you would think otherwise.
Cards – Mayer needs to prove he’s healthy, as he was scratched from a game just recently with his chronic back issues.
And would the Sox call up Mayer now, knowing they’d probably be forfeiting a year of team control?
I’ll believe it when I see it.
They can call Mayer up and send send him down later in the year if he isn’t ready. No reason to lose a year of team control unless he plays great and in that case problem solved.
His back issues aren’t “chronic” he missed one game last week. Stop making stuff up fever
Yeah he’s played in all but 4 games this year leads the team in homers and has twice as many RBIs as the next highest guy on the team.
Call him up. If he doesn’t play well go get some help in July. And the way it’s looking Bregman will probably leave so long term he will have a place to play when Casas gets healthy.
Fever- I specified Mayer should come up to play SS/2B. Send down the woesome David Hamilton and have Story, Mayer, Rafaela and Romy as the SS/2B mix.
Bring up Anthony to primarily start OF with Duran, Abreu, Refsnyder, Rafaela mix.
Bregman 3B, Campbell 1B, Devers DH and I don’t know about Yoshida. It’s good having depth in case of more injuries, but the point is that we were most shallow at 1B before our only out n out 1B, Casas, went out for the year. I don’t think Romy’s luck is going to hold up plus I am worried about Campbell’s D at 2B- he could be an all-time great 1B though.
The Red Sox biggest strength is their outfield defense with Duran, Abreu, and Ceddanne. That’s easily the top outfield defense in MLB. It would be absurd to put Devers’ iron glove in the field in order to rotate those outstanding fielders at DH.
Their defensive numbers tell a different story.
phillies – Rafaela would be demoted to the bench or AAA.
Anthony is a solid outfielder, they MUST replace Rafaela’s bat with Anthony’s.
Is the glove Devers’s fielding issue? I always thought it was when he had to throw over to first.
Meow – Here’s the breakdown on Raffy at third base:
He’s a plus fielder on charging the ball, +1
He’s a plus fielder on ranging to his right, +2
He’s horrible on ranging to his left, -11
He’s got good hands, and yes the throws were a problem because he didn’t properly set his feet when throwing which led to him airmailing throws.
Also he’s a one-handed fielder, not good for a third baseman.
All of that works as a first baseman though.
You play one-handed at first base.
You don’t have to go to your left much, only your right.
And of course there’s far fewer throws to be made from 1B.
As Merloni and others have stated, Raffy would be the best defensive third baseman the Sox have had in 5 years. It’s absolutely a no-brainer.
Cora keeps demonstrating why this team won’t win jack. Devers should be immediately asked to learn 1B and become proficient by midsummer. Failing to accomplish this patchwork is tantamount to negligence managing this roster.
Cleveland – The Sox announcers have been letting Cora have it and one of the things said by Merloni is Cora has to start acting like a manager by “reeling in the players”.
You can hear it yourself at the end of the great video.
Fever Pitch Guy — ‘reeling in the players’ is kinda late after all of his antics. It needed to happen this winter if it was ever going to happen. Instead he poured gasoline on top. It’s too late for Cora, but the ownership still has to make it look plausible by offering this hope. I truly hope it happens but I’m not buying into story lines regardless how much I agree. It’s a little too late to make your bed when Heard already dropped a deuce.
Cleveland – I agree 100%, not much more I can add.
Romy is good to play 1B as a backup. They need more out of 1B than a platoon of Romy and Toro.
This is because they really only have 4 bats in the lineup: Devers, Bregman, Campbell, Abreu.
Story, Rafaela and Narvaez are all glove first guys. Duran is struggling.
They need to get another good bat in the lineup.
Anyone call Dave Stapleton??
olm – Can you imagine Dick Stuart playing these days?
In 310 games at first base for the Sox he made 53 errors …. that is NOT a typo!!
If you listened to Merloni and Millar on the broadcast last night they talked about players changing positions. In addition to themselves, names like Mike Napoli and Kyle Schwarber cane up.
I don’t think that Devers is the answer. However, if we’re going to ask a player to change positions, and be reasonably good almost immediately, to me the answer is Story. Here’s why: his days of diving for balls in the hole at two sides of SS are clearly over (he gets injured too often). He’s already a solid infielder. He’s a good athlete. Hes a smart guy and should get the overall baseball strategy of the position.
The benefit of this is also we get Mayer at SS and can get rid of Toro.
Sad – I did see/hear that conversation as I watch/listen to nearly every game. Merloni had already spoken his mind in his great podcast appearance with Alex Speier, but this was the first time Millar chimed in … it was great to hear his take. He’s so right, what’s with all the drama as if playing first base is like brain surgery?
It’s the easiest position in MLB!!!
A huge percentage of MLB first basemen started out playing other positions!!
If you have a bad fielder but good hitter and want his bat in the lineup, you put him at first base …. you should NEVER sacrifice offense for defense at first base.
That’s the problem with Story though …. like I said earlier, I can see the move if his defense continues to decline. But right now his defense is too good and his offense is too bad for him to play first base.
BTW – Speaking of Kyle from Waltham, did you see he’s got 12 homers and a .999 OPS already! Why can’t the Red Sox get good players like that?
Story needs to be the utility player, not first base! His bat is so inconstant it a joke. Send Hamilton down bring Mayer up and let story bounce around. He cant catch up to a fastball and hasn’t been able to since he joined the sox. Either go get a real firs basemen or give Devers a shot.
Roman Anthony needs to be on the big league club like yesterday. I don’t really care who needs to move to first to facilitate it. Yes Devers is the most obvious choice, but any of the current outfielders could do it too. If normal alignment is Duran, Anthony, Abreu in OF, Bregman, Story, Campbell on the IF, Devers DH, then that leaves Romy, Rafaela, and Refsnyder on the bench who could all conceivably play first. Connor Wong could also slide over with a Narvaez/Grandal catching core. They have options, but they need to fast-track Anthony (and Mayer) if they actually want to push for a playoff spot this year.
Why can’t Yoshida experiment with first base? Never seems to be discussed. Read he isn’t a good outfielder anyways.
You’re joking, right?
1st basemen need to be tall and Yoshida is 5’8″
He’s 4″ tall
The article says they won’t play him till he can throw. If he can hit he could DH. Wonder if they are messing with him.
WTF are the Red Sox doing? Why are they afraid to tell Devers where he is going to play instead of asking him? If he isn’t happy about it tell him to go cry into his $314m pile of money. All that pouting Devers did over 3B he looks like an idiot, given how well Bregman has performed there.
That’s a bit over the top. Devers didn’t pour at all. He simply reacted to being lied to all winter. From the beginning of the team’s pursuit of Bregman they stated it was with the idea of him shifting over to 2B and Devers remaining at 3B. Then they finally land Bregman and Devers gets to ST and surprise, you’re being moved to DH. Of course he was going to react negatively at first. But the problem was Cora lying to him all winter. Cora could have been a lot more honest from the start. But he knew Devers would be resistant and feared that would influence Bregman’s decision.
He should be willing to mop the clubhouse floor for the money he makes. The reason we are .500 is because guys want money to complain, not actual wins.
socal – He wants to play first base, Cora won’t let him. There’s been many insiders who have said that, Jim Rice just said it a few minutes ago.
Why are they afraid to tell Devers where he is going to play instead of asking him?
=============
They literally told Devers that DH is his new position.
The .500 Joke Sox.
Casas o no casa, he had -.8 WAR and was looking like Bobby Dalbec 2.0.
This feels like 2022, 2023, and 2024 all over again. This team can’t just finish games. Its been the problem all along.
Idk, seems pretty straightforward to me.
Devers -> 1B
Yoshi -> DH
Anthony, Abreu, Duran -> OF
Cedanne -> UTL
Wagner – Agree 1,000%
I’m a Devers fan, but honestly, Cora and Breslow’s job is to do what’s best to put the best team on the field. Kevin Millar said it last night, These guys are employees, they are paid a huge amount of money, feelings need to be put aside for the betterment of the team.
Everybody and I mean EVERYBODY knows putting Devers at 1st will open up at bats for Masa or a promotion for Anthony, you can’t tell me those two aren’t going to help you better than Romy Gonzalez and Abraham Toro.
Cora is just being stubbord and overly loyal to individual players and not the team as a whole. Breslow needs to grow a pair and make the decision for him.
Molly – You are 100% correct!
But this has been the pattern for Cora, he simply doesn’t care about winning games in the first half of a season.
Everybody and I mean EVERYBODY knows putting Devers at 1st will open up at bats for Masa
============================
1-You don’t know that because Yoshida is still on the IL.
2-And you don’t know if Devers can play 1st. I’ve seen enough of these “just stick him at 1st” scenarios to know it could be a disaster.
Couldn’t Yoshida learn some 1B like Harper did when he hurt his arm? He’d have to be a better 1B than LF.
I didn’t realize he is 5’8”. Yikes.
For all the talk about switching guys around, and guys learning to play new positions, the only real solution is a trade.
Asking a non-athlete like Devers to learn how to play 1st might be a disaster. Story barely hits well enough to play SS. He should first learn the strike zone since he’s carrying a 44/6 K/W. Promoting Anthony does nothing to solve the problem. We don’t need another outfielders.
Yes, this. I’d like to see an article that surveys the 1b out there and considers what the Sox would need to give up to trade for them. Could dangling Duran and a prospect net us a solid 1b who will be around a few years?
We only need one for this year, and I don’t think he has to be anything more than adequate.
Casas looked liked a total different player this year and im not sure he will be comeback from this type of surgery any better, so i think they might want to look long term. I thought he was going to be great, but i think I was wrong……
As eager as I am for them to explore longer-term solutions at 1B than the current tandem, trading anyone on the active roster for a stopgap would be unwise. When Casas returns next season he’ll have no trade value, so if you bring in a 1B “who will be around for a few years” you’re just adding extra ingredients to the existent logjam of Sox players (see Devers, Yoshida, Casas himself) who in an ideal world should probably only be DH’ing. And I *certainly* wouldn’t want to give up Jarren Duran for a 1B under any circumstances— he has way too much surplus value in the field and on the bases and is a potentially top-tier offensive producer in his own right.
The willingness of Sox management to treat the 28 y/o Devers like he’s a petulant little boy is so bewildering to me. I’m 26 and if the Boston Red Sox asked me to DH, play 1B, or carry water for them it’d be a “hell yeah” from me. There have been plenty of star players in recent years who have willingly moved off their primary position to accommodate a new signing that improves the team. I just don’t understand it. What happens to Devers if they make him play the field? Does he, like, break? Is he going to retire? Will he intentionally stop producing as an act of retribution against Craig Breslow? Like, what is everyone so afraid of? Why is he managing Cora instead of Cora managing him? He’s not a wild animal, you shouldn’t have to coax him into doing what he’s paid to do.
It would be one thing if Cora could come up with coherent reasons (concerns about his defensive performance, his nagging shoulder injury, etc.) why Devers isn’t being trained to play 1B, but in every interview he basically says the same thing: that they already asked a lot of him in asking him to DH and don’t want to piss him off again. I’m sorry, but that is simply not an acceptable reason to field an objectively sub-standard lineup for the next several months by leaving a massive hole at a position that is traditionally expected to produce offensive output.
That’s silly. You think players can just pick up new positions. Fairly recently, we saw just how bad Schwarber was when we moved him to 1st. We tried Dalbec at 1st and he was terrible. We tried Hanley and he was bad.
Joe: The Red Sox also tried Franchy Cordero at 1B and he was terrible.
This feels like the wrong argument to make considering that neither González nor Toro is a first baseman by trade. They both spent most of their careers in the minors and the majors as 2B/3B guys.
I would also argue that for as disastrous as Schwarber was at 1B (and don’t get me wrong, you’re 100% right, he was BAD), the defensive gaffes were worth it to get his bat in the lineup. When I think about his tenure in Boston I don’t think about the subpar defense, I think about the fact that that lineup looked awfully scary down the stretch in 2021.
Devers’ shoulders may be what is keeping him at DH. His shoulders did not heal all offseason and were keeping him out of spring training. Maybe his shoulders are finally healthy and they don’t want him diving on the ground for balls.
@suit— This would be a perfectly fair reason to want to keep Devers off the field, but I suspect it’s not the case. First of all, Devers was adamant about wanting to play 3B, and if he was staying off the field to stay healthy it seems odd that he would have pushed as hard as he did for it. Second, if they’re protecting his shoulders, why not say so? It’s not like they’re keeping it quiet so they can trade him, and they’ve certainly had no qualms about publicizing, say, Yoshida’s injury and its impact on his ability to play the field.
I earnestly think the #1 reason they aren’t willing to try it is that it would create tension in the clubhouse if they did, which, to me, is insane. I like Devers even though the Sox clearly overpaid for him, so I hope I’m wrong! But his entire saga this season has left a negative impression on me, and I, of course, am very, very important. 😉
Crocuses: That’s not a bad theory. I also think it would be a huge mistake to ask someone to try to learn first base during the season.
I would normally agree, and I certainly don’t think it would be wise to ask him to suit up at first, like, tomorrow. But (assuming he’s healthy enough to do it) given that Devers isn’t currently playing the field anywhere else, I’d think there would be more flexibility in his regimen to incorporate some first base training over the next 2-3 weeks and see what he’s got. Presumably most of the work would be around-the-bag footwork stuff given that he’s already a (somewhat) competent corner infielder as opposed to a career outfielder like Schwarber was. All the more urgent to explore him as an option in the event that Romy hurt himself seriously in that collision tonight and Toro’s now at the top of your depth chart. (Although I’m kind of curious about Binelas.)
Alternatively, maybe the Rays would be willing to part with Yandy for a few good-not-great prospects? They’ve got Aranda tearing the cover off the ball and are typically willing to play ball on their more expensive players. I know it’s early, but Casas being out for the year is already a certainty. Might as well strike now if the plan is just to upgrade at the deadline anyway.
If they don’t call up Mayer soon, he’s going to change his name to Juner.
You’re welcome.
This is the garbage cheap clubs do not a team with the most expensive tickets in the league the RS have turned into a joke once Ortiz retired
Cora needs to be fired he’s the laziest manager in the game how long has he been here and the D is still this bad when he was pretty good infielder and he’s to scared to talk to Devers about playing 1st what a clown
I thought Cora was good in 18 and 21 but he’s just gotten sloppy lately. They never should have renewed his contract. I was one of his biggest supporters at first but sometimes you just need change.