Red Sox 'Likely' Inquired About Trade For World Series Champion 1B, Per Insider

The Boston Red Sox haven't been able to find an established first baseman to replace Triston Casas, but it sure seems like they've tried.

Famously, the Red Sox (specifically, chief baseball officer Craig Breslow) asked Rafael Devers to give first base a try. He was met with a resounding "nope," leaving Abraham Toro, Nick Sogard, and an injured Romy González as options.

For the last several days, the Red Sox have also started working rookie Kristian Campbell out at first before games, with manager Alex Cora admitting it's an "experiment" in its early stages. Presumably, moving Campbell to first would open up second base for top prospect Marcelo Mayer.

If you're thinking to yourself, "Hey, shouldn't the Red Sox trade for a first baseman?", you're probably not alone. But based on one insider's report, it doesn't sound like their odds are very good.

On Wednesday's episode of "The Fenway Rundown," MassLive reporter Sean McAdam confirmed the Red Sox had been inquiring about veteran first basemen, and at least one team, who he couldn't say was Boston with certainty, had asked the Washington Nationals about veteran Nathaniel Lowe.

"The Red Sox did initially canvas teams to see if there was a trade that could be made to bring in a more established first baseman," McAdam said. "At the time, I had not heard any specific names. Subsequent to writing that, I did hear that at least one team had contacted the Washington Nationals of late to inquire about the potential availability of Nathaniel Lowe.

"I don't know for a fact that it was the Red Sox, but it seems likely it was. There are not a lot of other teams in the market in mid-May for first basemen other than the Red Sox, so I'm gonna assume that was one of the calls they made. Whoever that team was, they were told by the Nationals, 'Not interested.'"

Lowe, a 2023 World Series champion with the Texas Rangers, has a mediocre .223/.298/.397 slash line this season. He'd be a steady hand, but the same reason the Red Sox want him is the reason the Nationals do for now, and the price to get him right now would be exorbitant.

While we're at it, let's dispel the notion that it was a "failure" on the Red Sox's part not to sign a better backup first baseman this offseason. Not a single major league hitter better than González or Toro would have signed up to play a "just in case" role on the Boston bench, if not down in Triple-A.

The Red Sox are trying to find a resolution to a sticky situation, and even if they haven't handled every step the way they probably should have, they're exhausting all their options. Maybe the trade avenue will open up eventually, but Campbell taking over in a matter of weeks seems like the plan for now.