Who’s on first for the Boston Red Sox during the 2022 season?
The Boston Red Sox have a solid lineup through and through. Each position on the diamond is pretty much filled with absolute certainty for the 2022 season, except first base.
In 2021, first base was primarily held by Bobby Dalbec. The rookie managed to have a decent season slashing .240/.298/.494 with 25 home runs. However, there are a number of people who could be battling Dalbec for that position.
Triston Casas seems to be the most likely to take over for Dalbec. The 6-4 slugger is the No. 18 prospect in baseball, according to MLB Pipeline.
In 2021, Casas split time between Double-A Portland and Triple-A Worcester. In 86 games he slashed .279/.394/.484. He also represented the United States in the Olympics where he hit three home runs in six games.
The question with Casas is whether or not the Red Sox will bring him up for Opening Day. That decision depends on the lockout. If the season starts on time AND the new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) doesn’t contain regulations on service time manipulation, then the Sox would probably wait to call him up.
Casas’ call up is almost inevitable; it’s likely that the contents of the new CBA that will decide when we can expect to see him at Fenway.
Another interesting suitor for first base is Kyle Schwarber. When Schwarber arrived in Boston, there was a lot of speculation that he would replace Dalbec at first base, despite having never played the position before.
Schwarber has a lot of upside, and bringing him back seems to be priority number one to the majority of Red Sox fans. In 41 games with the Sox, he slashed .291/.435/.522 and was a crucial piece to Boston’s playoff run.
The fan favorite will probably not play first base for the Red Sox, but we’ve seen crazier things happen; so I wouldn’t place it out of the realm of possibility considering why he was brought here in the first place.
The most interesting case is one of the newest members of the Red Sox, Roberto Ramos. Signed out of the Korean Baseball league on a minor league deal, Ramos’ stats in Korea prove that he shouldn’t be overlooked; then again, why would Chaim sign him in the first place?
There’s also the possibility of a free-agent signing, and the most likely seems to be Anthony Rizzo. According to BetSided, the Red Sox have the best odds to sign Rizzo at +200. While Rizzo seems like a great person to have in the clubhouse, I don’t see the value of bringing him to Fenway. Honestly, it would be a waste of money based on the talent we have in the organization.
The only possible reason I see for signing him is to take over for J.D. Martinez as the DH if he ends up leaving in free agency after 2022.
Casas seems to be the future of the Red Sox franchise, but for now, the question as to who will take over first base remains a mystery and only time will tell.