With Abraham Toro falling back to earth, Romy Gonzalez proving to be a (valuable) option in the short-side of a platoon, and Kristian Campbell still tinkering with his swing in Triple-A, it's safe to say the Boston Red Sox have a hole at first base.
Thanks to a brilliant 10-game winning streak prior to the All-Star break, the Red Sox appear to be "no doubt about it" buyers heading into the trade deadline. If that's the case, it would behoove them to add some much-needed lineup depth at the cold corner.
Though the first base market isn't brimming with elite All-Stars this year, there's still plenty of talent to pick from. Each of the players in this piece offers a little something different; power, defense, veteran leadership, and more are covered by this quartet of options.
4 first base options that can transform Red Sox at MLB trade deadline
Josh Naylor, Arizona Diamondbacks
Perhaps the most popular first base trade candidate on the market, Josh Naylor is having a strong debut season in the desert.
In 87 games (369 plate appearances) through the season's first half, Naylor is slashing .294/.361/.456 in the middle of the Diamondbacks' lineup, good for a 128 wRC+. His 11 home runs would rank tied for fourth on the Red Sox, and his 58 RBIs match the team RBI leader, Trevor Story.
His defense hasn't been great, as he's earned -2 Outs Above Average this year, but that's a steep departure from his time in Cleveland, when Naylor produced 11 OAA in a little under 2,900 innings. It's fair to expect his glove to bounce back.
Plus, his affordable one-year, $10.9 million contract makes him a productive rental that shouldn't cost much in terms of prospect talent or financial commitment. The 28-year-old also wouldn't be prohibitively expensive to extend, should the Red Sox want to go that route.
However, as a left-handed batter who pulls 42.1% of his batted balls, he may not be the best fit in Boston. Opinions will vary in the front office about Naylor.
Nathaniel Lowe/Josh Bell, Washington Nationals
This isn't a two-for-one special, but the Red Sox would be wise to try and pry one of the veteran first basemen out of the nation's capital if some of their other pursuits don't work out.
Lowe and Bell are posting an equal 92 wRC+ this year, though the former has taken 76 more plate appearances. He's also provided more power to the Nationals, though the disparity in his walk and strikeout rates (18.9%) is much larger than Bell's (7.1%).
Neither has been great defensively this year — Lowe has been worth -4 OAA and Bell has been relegated to DH duties for all but 35 innings — but the former Ranger won a Gold Glove in 2023 and the latter has spent over 7,300 innings at first base in his career.
Lowe, 29, is a World Series champion with one year of arbitration remaining in 2026. Bell, 32, is on an expiring, $6 million deal. Neither would be the likely long-term answer at first base, but as far as short-term options go, Boston could do worse.
Carlos Santana, Cleveland Guardians
This shouldn't come as a surprise, as the Red Sox have been looking for a veteran leader at first base ever since they shipped Rafael Devers to San Francisco.
In 23 games (90 plate appearances) last month, the 39-year-old Santana slashed .169/.233/.253, good for a pitiful 38 wRC+. His strikeout rate ballooned to 25.6% while his walk rate sank to 7.8%.
Luckily, he's regained some footing in July, hitting .227/.320/.386 (102 wRC+) in the few weeks leading up to the All-Star break. His strikeout (14.0%) and walk rates (12.0%) have stabilized. It's not quite equivalent to when he produced a ridiculous 182 wRC+ in May, but for a guy on a one-year, $12 million deal, it's more than good enough to handle first base in Boston for the next few months.
Speaking of, Santana, who won his first Gold Glove last year at first with the Twins, is once again producing elite defensive numbers at the cold corner. His seven Outs Above Average puts him on pace to match the 14 OAA he gave Minnesota in 2024, and his seven Defensive Runs Saved nearly matches the eight DRS from last year in half the innings.
As far as veterans with plenty of postseason experience go, it's hard to do much better than Santana.