Top tier first base candidates are few and far between on the free agent market after the signings of Pete Alonso and Munetaka Murakami. To address their vacancy at the corner, the Boston Red Sox made yet another trade.
The Red Sox have traded for catcher/first baseman Willson Contreras from the St. Louis Cardinals, first reported by Jeff Passan of ESPN. Contreras had a no trade clause on his contract, which needed to be waived before this move. St. Louis will receive Hunter Dobbins in return, as well minor league pitchers Yhoiker Fajardo and Blake Aita.
The Red Sox will also get $8 million to cover part of Contreras' contract. He's signed until 2027 with $40.5 million remaining on his contract with a club option for 2028.
This is the third trade the Red Sox and Cardinals have made since the 2025 trade deadline: Boston traded for reliever Steven Matz, starting pitcher Sonny Gray and now Contreras. Former Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom officially took over as the Cardinals' president of baseball operations this offseason. His familiarity with Boston's farm system and player pool has no doubt helped many of these trades along.
Red Sox make yet another trade with Cardinals to add Willson Contreras, clouding Triston Casas' future
Contreras, who is entering his age-34 season, is a 10-year MLB veteran who has spent the majority of his career as a catcher. He didn't appear behind the plate at all in 2025 and transitioned to a role between first base and designated hitter, where he logged 135 games, the second-most he's ever played in his career.
Adding Contreras to the lineup could mean a role change, or even a trade, for Triston Casas, who missed almost all of the 2024-25 seasons with devastating injuries. The first baseman has attested that he thinks he can be ready to play by Opening Day and his recovery from surgery to repair his ruptured patellar tendon has gone well so far, but Craig Breslow's hesitance to commit to him as Boston's everyday first baseman has raised questions about his future (subscription required).
Contreras is a righty hitter, for which the Red Sox are desperate, and his bat will play well in front of the Green Monster. The veteran is a career .258/.352/.459 hitter with a .811 OPS, and he batted .257/.344/.447 with a .791 OPS, 31 doubles, a triple and 20 homers over 135 games last season. His extra-base impact may only increase within the friendly confines of Fenway Park, and he may be able to post longer seasons now that he's a full-time first baseman — Contreras has never played more than 138 games in a year and he averages just over 98 per season, excluding 2020.
Contreras has emerged as a solid defensive first baseman, logging six outs above average and 91st-percentile range last season. If the Red Sox bring Alex Bregman back to cover the opposite corner, their infield defense could be the complete inverse of last season's when Boston led the league with 116 errors.