Red Sox Suggested Blockbuster Lands $87.5 Million Cardinals Star To Play 1st Base

First base has become the hot-button topic that's dividing Boston Red Sox fans more than anything else these days.

With Opening Day starter Triston Casas out for the year, the Red Sox are still working on finding a pivot. Rafael Devers is famously refusing to make the swap, with chaos ensuing after he called out chief baseball officer Craig Breslow on Thursday for asking him to move positions.

The assumption of many in the Red Sox talkosphere has been that Devers will eventually make the swap once the front office and manager Alex Cora have given him time to cool his jets. But what if the rift can't be overcome?

Will the Red Sox then pivot to the trade market to find a new first baseman who can replace Casas' production? One baseball writer believes there are several intriguing external candidates worth considering.

On Sunday, Mac Cerullo of the Boston Herald pitched several candidates for the Red Sox to acquire to play first base, including three-time All-Star Willson Contreras of the St. Louis Cardinals.

"(The Cardinals) have Willson Contreras and Alec Burleson at first base but have made no secret their desire to begin a long-term rebuild. Contreras is in the third year of his five-year, $87.5 million deal and has been an above-average offensive producer throughout his career," Cerullo wrote.

"The Cardinals would probably be interested in moving his contract, and while the Red Sox surely wouldn’t be interested in that money, maybe this is a case where they could swap Contreras for Masataka Yoshida (and his similar contract), with the Red Sox likely tossing a prospect in to get the deal over the finish line."

Contreras, 32, is a converted catcher who's still adjusting to his full-time role at first base. But he's also been on fire at the plate over the last few weeks, and he's had an OPS+ over 100 in every single season since 2019.

If former Red Sox CBO Chaim Bloom, now with the Cardinals, wants Yoshida back, then perhaps he could be included in the deal. But if it's a straight salary dump, the Red Sox have to decide if the rest of Contreras' $87.5 million deal is worth taking on.