The Boston Red Sox are staring down the barrel of a long-term vacancy at first base after Triston Casas underwent season-ending surgery on May 4.
The first baseman ruptured his left patellar tendon while running out a grounder on May 3, which can carry a recovery period of six to 12 months. The Red Sox and their fans hoped for a bounce-back year from Casas after he missed four months of the 2024 season due to a freak rib cartilage injury, but the injury bug struck him again.
Now, the Sox are in the market for replacements at first base. Red Sox beat writer Chris Cotillo of MassLive appeared on the "Foul Territory" podcast to discuss potential reinforcement options, and he proposed a curious sort of reunion with a veteran corner infielder.
"I think the wild card here... is Anthony Rizzo," Cotillo said. "I don't know if he has interest in playing at this point, I don't know if the Red Sox have interest in bringing him in. If he's going to demand a major league deal with a $4-5 million salary, I could doubt that they would do it, but if he is gonna take a minor league deal, something he said earlier he didn't want to do, maybe they bring him in, see what he has left in the tank."
The Red Sox took Rizzo in the sixth round of the 2007 MLB Draft, but he never appeared in a major league game with the team. He was traded to the Padres in 2010, along with three other players, for Adrián González. He was the Sox's No. 3 prospect at the time.
Rizzo, 35, has appeared in 14 MLB seasons, the majority of which came as the first baseman for the Cubs — he was part of the 2016 curse-breaking World Series team and earned one of his three All-Star nods that year, along with a Gold Glove, Silver Slugger and MVP votes.
Red Sox insider proposes Anthony Rizzo as potential first base replacement for Triston Casas until the trade deadline
Rizzo most recently suited up for the Yankees from 2021-24, and his offensive numbers in pinstripes weren't great. He batted .231/.324/.406 with a .730 OPS over 321 games with New York from 2022-24.
Cotillo named Rizzo as a potential solution to the Red Sox's first base vacancy until the trade deadline, which could make some sense. He has years of experience at the corner, Boston lacks major league-ready depth and Rizzo's recent offensive metrics are better than what Casas posted through his 29 games. Romy González and Abraham Toro aren't suitable long-term replacements for a team in the hunt for its first playoff berth in four seasons.
Conversely, the Red Sox have enough money and top prospect capital to sign or trade for a better replacement than Rizzo. Boston has lost an MLB-worst nine one-run games, and Rizzo's .228/.301/.335 slash line from 2024 won't move the needle in the offensive category. However, there aren't that many better options still sitting on the market.
Signing Rizzo to get to the trade deadline could be one of the Sox's best veteran choices for first base depth. It may still be too early to trade for an elite first baseman, since (most) teams don't yet know if they'll be in the playoff picture come July. But the second Boston sees a potential suitor, it should trade for the best first baseman it can get its hands on as it pushes for the postseason.