The Boston Red Sox could be looking to move one of their young players to a National League powerhouse that could try and fix his troubles at the plate.
Triston Casas came into the season with big expectations, especially after the Red Sox did not trade him after an offseason full of rumors. However, he has struggled early on, and trading him could actually solve some problems for the team. Newsweek's Drew VonScio suggested that he could get traded to the San Diego Padres.
"The San Diego Padres are going to be without one of their stars for the foreseeable future," wrote VonScio. "Luis Arráez was carted off of the field in Sunday night's game against the Houston Astros after colliding with Mauricio Dubón. Arráez served as the DH, with Yuli Gurriel over at first base. Gurriel is a temporary solution, but the 40-year-old can not be the everyday option. Instead, the Padres could turn to the trade market and pursue Triston Casas from the Boston Red Sox."
Casas has a .167 batting average and just one home run so far. He could be an option for the Padres at first base, but they would have to find a way to get him to produce at the plate. However, if they did that, he could become a starter, replacing Dubón as an everyday player.
"It's unclear how much longer the Red Sox are going to allow Casas to work through his struggles before making a decision. However, it appears he could certainly benefit from a change in scenery," wrote VonScio. "There's still some untapped potential with Casas as he's only 25 years old. The Padres have become known as one of the best teams in baseball to develop young players into high-level athletes. They could certainly take a chance on Casas as well."
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Meanwhile, trading Casas could lead to Rafael Devers playing first base. There were rumors of that happening in the offseason. Moving Devers to first base would open the DH spot up for when Masataka Yoshida returns. Right now, Yoshida may not have a spot on the team with Devers at DH and Rafaela, Duran, Abreu and, soon, Roman Anthony in the outfield.
The Padres are looking like one of the best teams in the National League. Taking a flyer on Casas and trying to tap into his potential could be key for them to dethrone the Los Angeles Dodgers.
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