Boston Red Sox 2025 Position Analysis: First Base

Triston Casas is primed for a breakout year in 2025 if he can stay healthy. He was robbed of that opportunity last year by the rib cartilage injury that sidelined him for the bulk of the season. The other effect of that injury was to showcase just how thin the Red Sox are at the first base position. Dom Smith filled in as best he could and Romy Gonzalez rotated in from time to time, but the lack of Casas's bat opened up a giant hole in both the infield defense and the starting lineup. Let’s take a look at the state of the position as we head into the 2025 season.

Red Sox First Basemen at a Glance

Starter: Triston Casas
Backup: Romy Gonzalez
Depth: Blake Sabol, Abraham Toro (NRI)
Prospects: Alex Binelas, Blaze Jordan, Nathan Hickey
Red Sox 1B fWAR Ranking Last Year: 23 out of 30

The Good
Triston Casas being healthy and having the chance to play an entire season is a really big "good" for the Red Sox. He has 40-homer potential and should be a force in the middle of the lineup. He’s not the best defensive first baseman, but he’s not necessarily a liability either. In limited action last season, Casas slashed .241/.337/.462 with 13 home runs for a 119 wRC+. While that's not quite where you’d hope it would be, Casas gives you the standard power hitter outcomes, but he has a solid command of the strike zone so he walks more than the average hitter. In 2023, he ran a .367 on-base percenrage,  good for sixth in the AL, whils his .857 ranked fifth. When Casas is healthy, he’s an on-base machine. A healthy Triston Casas should help propel the Red Sox to a playoff spot this season.

The Bad
The depth at first base is nonexistent again. Romy Gonzalez is a fine utility infielder, and he can play for brief spells at first, but if something were to happen to Casas you wouldn’t feel comfortable running him out to first every game. Outside of Gonzalez, Abraham Toro could play first a bit should he stick around past spring training. Blake Sabol was brought in as a catcher, but that skillset could transition to first if absolutely necessary. If we’re ever talking about Binelas or Jordan at first this season, things have gone horribly wrong. That’s not necessarily a knock on either of them; both could be major league contributors one day, but they don’t appear to be close to ready for the majors.

The Bottom Line
First base is about as top-heavy as you can get. After Casas there is one major league-ready player to step into his role and it’s not someone that you feel overly confident about for a long stretch. Should the injury bug bite Casas or Gonzalez during the season, the Red Sox may be forced to overextend for a trade or an unsigned free agent like Anthony Rizzo. Then again, Rafael Devers might just be in need of a defensive position.