The Boston Red Sox don’t have to worry about Rafael Devers debuting at first base now, thanks to Abraham Toro. And they don’t have to worry about ruining Kristian Campbell’s development by learning a new position either thanks to Toro’s resurrection from the minor leagues this season. He was in contention to make the Opening Day roster, but ultimately started the year in Triple A.
Now he’s been the bright spot on a team needing anything to turn things around. Toro is slashing .341/.353/.573 since being called up from Worcester at the beginning of May. In his 24 games, he’s made most of his appearances at first base, the biggest question mark for the Red Sox since losing Triston Casas at the beginning of the year.
His surge in MLB this season has brought even more complicated questions for how the Red Sox will handle the MLB trade deadline. Should they hold onto Toro and hope this isn’t a brief period of success and a peak into how he can ignite this team? Or should they deal him while he’s hot, get a great return on him that will give them a more stable and consistent first base option.
Decisions, decisions, decisions for Alex Cora, Craig Breslow and the rest of this front office ahead of a critical time in the year.
Abraham Toro has been a bright spot on a team that needed it and now his future is complicated
The Red Sox have had way too many questions about their first base vacancy since Casas went down and now things finally seem to have stabilized. Why would they take the risk of dealing him and bringing in a player that could underperform compared to what Toro was producing.
I get it, Toro is having a career season and based on his stats from his previous six seasons in MLB, he’s more likely to drop off than continue this streak. But let’s face it, he’s swinging a scorching hot bat right now and unless things taper off over the next few weeks, it’s pointless to deal him for his replacement.
Boston should go with the devil it knows, not the one it doesn't
Boston should have considered this before now. To get rid of him now and it not work out, would be a waste. The Red Sox have had an odd season, filled with essentially .500 baseball. The New York Yankees series was a turning point; for Toro and his team.
Before the Yankees series, the Red Sox won two of the last five games and three of the last 11. After taking down the AL East leading Yankees in three games, it could be the moment this team will look back on that finally got it back on track.
Toro will be the player this team will look at as the spark that made this team good again. In the Yankees series, he was 7-for-13 with a home run and three RBI. Toro's been raking in June, slashing .429/.452/.643 in the first eight days of the new month.
Throwing that away now wouldn’t make sense. If he cools off over the next few weeks, maybe it’s something to consider. But for now, stay with what’s working and that’s Toro. He hasn’t been a fielding liability and he’s giving Devers some offensive help.
Boston knows what Toro can do to improve this team, why take the unnecessary risk of moving him for a player that could ultimately set this team back again?