The Boston Red Sox have a massive hole at first base following the gruesome knee injury suffered by Triston Casas earlier this month. The easiest solution seemed to be sliding Rafael Devers from the designated hitter slot, but Devers ... not-so-politely shot that idea down. This has sparked quite a bit of drama, but the Red Sox could quiet all of that with one simple move.
The easiest solution remaining would be sliding young infielder Kristian Campbell over to first base. Campbell has split time between the middle infield and outfield throughout his Minor League career, and he's athletic enough that a move to first base could be seamless. Campbell is more athletic and mobile than Devers, which could lead to the former top prospect having more success with a position change.
But there are more layers to the situation than that.
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Moving Kristian Campbell to first base solves a lot of problems in Boston
On the season, Campbell is slashing .254/.346/.420 with an OPS+ of 114 and 13 extra-base hits. He's shown an excellent approach at the plate with the ability to access power to all fields. His defense at second base hasn't been extraordinary, so sliding him to first base wouldn't be a huge loss of defense up the middle.
This move would also open up second base for top infield prospect Marcelo Mayer. Mayer, 22, is slashing .275/.342/.500 in Triple-A this season following an excellent spring training. He has all the tools to be the team's shortstop of the future, but Trevor Story's presence has him waiting in the Minor Leagues.
If Boston was to move Campbell off second base and transition him to first, Mayer could slot in at second base for the rest of the year. This would put two of the team's best prospects on the big-league roster. The only one left in Triple-A would be Roman Anthony.
If this isn't a route the Red Sox want to take, they could look to swing a trade for a first baseman like Ryan Mountcastle or Yandy Diaz. Both would be affordable in a trade for the Red Sox if they opted to go with a veteran instead of sliding Campbell over to first base.