Red Sox Should Acquire Former All-Star 1B To Replace Abraham Toro

The Boston Red Sox need to treat the first base position as a serious need at the trade deadline.

Romy Gonzalez is fantastic and should start every game Boston plays against left-handed pitchers. But Abraham Toro, who has the most first base starts of anyone on the team this season at 36, has quietly been coming back down to earth.

Toro kept the Red Sox afloat in the immediate aftermath of Triston Casas' injury, putting up a .928 OPS and five home runs in his first 27 games of the season. In 25 games since, though, he owns just a .528 OPS without a home run. The smart bet is on him being at least slightly closer to the second player the rest of the way.

Boston is on fire right now, and they could separate themselves from the pack in the American League Wild Card race in the second half if they added a left-handed-hitting first baseman who could take over Toro's at-bats and produce at a borderline All-Star level.

NBC Sports Boston's Justin Leger mentioned such a player as a fit for the Red Sox in an article published on Wednesday: the Arizona Diamondbacks' Josh Naylor.

"Naylor is a left-handed-hitting first baseman who tends to struggle against southpaws. His numbers this season are eerily similar to (the Baltimore Orioles' Ryan) O'Hearn's: a .294/.361/.456 slash line with 11 homers and 58 RBI for the fourth-place Diamondbacks," wrote Leger.

"Naylor, 28, is also set to become a free agent after this season. He was an All-Star last year with the Cleveland Guardians."

Though he wasn't quite deserving of an All-Star spot this year, Naylor fits exactly what the Red Sox need. He's a proven middle-of-the-order hitter who would fit in seamlessly in the fourth or fifth spot in the lineup in place of the slumping Toro.

Naylor also matches what Toro was giving the Red Sox during his hot streak, and what their lineup needs to supplement the youngsters as they go through ups and downs. He's a high-average guy, always delivers with runners in scoring position, and mauls right-handed pitching.

The Red Sox can't hope Toro catches lightning in a bottle again. They need to get a little uncomfortable and part ways with a decent prospect to land Naylor (or O'Hearn, or someone else of a similar stature).