There probably isn't a Boston Red Sox fan alive who thought that Abraham Toro would be as valuable to this team in the 2025 season as he has been. In the wake of the Triston Casas injury early in the year, Boston elected to ultimately platoon Toro and Romy Gonzalez against righties and lefties, respectively, Fans weren't jazzed, but it somehow worked, and allowed the Red Sox to stay afloat enough to go on their run into the All-Star break. Coming out of it, though, it's time to have a tough conversation about Toro, especially as the trade deadline looms.
Given that Toro was an emergency option after the Casas injury, the overall numbers for the season have been more than passable. For the season in 52 games, Toro is slashing .271/.321/.418/.739 with five home runs and 20 RBI on the season. Furthermore, he's more than done his job against righties, posting a .781 in such matchups. However, the concern comes with where things are trending.
Since Toro's OPS reached a season high .928 on June 11, Toro has been in a freefall at the plate. In 25 games and 94 plate appearances, the veteran infielder is slashing .205/.287/.241/.528 with only three extra-base hits and 16 strikeouts to eight walks. With that and the fact that his Baseball Savant page will give you a chill with all of the blue on it (both hitting and fielding), the Red Sox aren't left with much of a choice.
Boston has to trade for Toro's replacement at the deadline.
Red Sox need to trade for Abraham Toro's replacement before the deadline
Now, to be sure, acquiring a high-end starting pitcher, bullpen help and perhaps a backup catcher to replace Connor Wong should be high on the Red Sox priority list at the trade deadline too. But Toro's lack of production recently ultimately increases the need to dip a toe back into the first base market at the deadline and see what they can find.
The good news is that Boston doesn't need to find a superstar, everyday player. Gonzalez has had an opposite trajectory this season than Toro, starting off relatively average but getting white-hot entering the dog days of summer. As such, the Red Sox simply need to find a platoon left-handed first baseman that can help. Even better, there are options they could consider there as well.
Ryan O'Hearn and Josh Naylor are the two highest-tier options that fit that bill, though you'd probably have a hard time platooning Naylor. Still, if the Red Sox were looking for a big fish there, that would make some sense. Lower on the totem pole, Boston could also look at someone like Nathaniel Lowe (.769 OPS and 13 home runs, nine doubles against RHP in 2025) or Josh Bell (.730 OPS with 10 home runs, eight doubles against RHP in 2025) from the Nationals. Other options are sure to emerge as well.
What's becoming clearer, though, is that Toro overachieved when the Red Sox needed it, but now they need something to help a playoff push. He's regressing back toward his career .638 OPS that he had entering this season. While even replacements on the trade market like Lowe and Bell may not be that far ahead of that, they do so with more pop, which adds more value. In the end, the ride with Toro was fun if not unexpected. But if the Red Sox are serious about being a playoff contender, then the ride has to stop at the trade deadline.