Red Sox Rumors: Trade For Orioles All-Star Slugger 'Might Happen'

The Boston Red Sox need a better left-handed hitting first baseman if they want to be serious World Series contenders this season.

No disrespect intended to Abraham Toro, who stepped up in a major way in late May and early June when the Red Sox needed a boost. But in his last 26 games, Toro now has a .527 OPS, and he may well have cost Boston the game against the Chicago Cubs on Friday afternoon with a baserunning blunder.

The platoon with Toro and Romy Gonzalez has mostly worked out for Boston, but they'd be wise to move on before the results get even uglier. Fortunately, a solution might be on the horizon, as a prominent Red Sox podcaster explained on Friday.

During a livestream for Bleacher Report, Steve Perrault of Underdog's "Section 10 Podcast" named Baltimore Orioles first baseman Ryan O'Hearn as his top projected trade target for the Red Sox, and hinted that there may be momentum building toward that acquisition behind the scenes.

"I've got them getting Ryan O'Hearn from the Baltimore Orioles," Perrault said. "That's a trade that would not surprise me at all. A little birdie told me the Red Sox are very interested in getting O'Hearn from the Orioles, and that the price might not be as high as some folks might think."

Perrault also explained the rationale behind the move, saying O'Hearn would replace Toro as the primary first baseman against right-handed pitchers. Against lefties, it might be tougher to get him in the lineup with Gonzalez crushing southpaws the way he has all season.

"Toro's tailing off a little bit. They probably want Romy to be a little bit more of a super-utility guy, obviously use him against lefties; he's one of the best righty hitters against lefties in all of baseball," Perrault said.

"O'Hearn would be a great fit in Boston... It's a move that I'm hearing a couple of murmurs might happen."

Perrault isn't an "insider," per se, but the folks over at Section 10, especially host Jared Carrabis, sometimes have information about the goings-on inside the Red Sox front office.

Other teams surely want O'Hearn too, and though it seems likely, there's also no guarantee the Orioles sell. But the fit makes sense, and based on what Perrault is saying, there's at least a little bit of smoke building for him to be traded within the division.