The more I think about it, the first baseman I think we’re getting is Jesús Aguilar.
For one thing, he’s a good character guy
by many accounts, which is important on this team. He has a reputation as a lefty masher but overhauled his approach since then, and has hit righties better this year. He also crushes both fastballs and sliders and has cut way down on strikeouts.
We could use a little help there, as the Sox are 20th in MLB in wOBA against hard stuff from RHP. Aguilar’s .406 expected wOBA against fastballs from right-handers would be second on the team behind Verdugo (.423). This hit chart is pretty Fenway friendly.
View attachment 42896
Aguilar’s not a free agent until 2023, and the extra year of control gives us a sturdier bridge to Casas than a trade for Rizzo or Schoop would. (Rizzo is also much more vulnerable to the shift.) Maybe that frees up Dalbec for a deadline or winter trade? Maybe it also gives us insurance against JDM opting out? In that case, Aguilar would slide over to DH and we can either give Dalbec another year, or try Cordero or another cheap 1B until Casas is ready.
I’m not sure what the Marlins would want for him, but I wonder if Duran and Dalbec gets you in the conversation for a package of Aguilar and Sandy Alcantara, who gets expensive for them next year.