Red Sox Get Encouraging News on Possible First Base Upgrade
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Boston Red Sox Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow
It’s been a minute since the Boston Red Sox had a dominant everyday presence at first base. And even then, the player wasn’t a true first baseman.
It was 2016 when Hanley Ramirez, primarily a shortstop and third baseman through the first decade of his MLB career, played 133 games at first base for Boston, and he finished the season slashing .286/.361/.505 with 30 home runs and 111 RBIs. In the years that followed, serviceable players like Mitch Moreland and Bobby Dalbec handled the majority of the games at first, until Triston Casas, Boston’s first-round pick in the 2018 draft, made his MLB debut as a September callup in 2022.
With Casas playing 125 games at first base in 2023, Boston seemed to be set at the position for the foreseeable future, as the 6-foot-4, 240-pounder slashed .263/.367/.490 with 24 home runs and 65 RBIs, finishing third in voting for the AL Rookie of the Year award. But injuries have limited Casas to 92 games over the past two seasons, and ineffectiveness when healthy – .222 average with 16 home runs and 43 RBIs in 311 at bats – have the Red Sox wondering if they can commit to Casas filling the position in 2026.
“I don’t think it makes a ton of sense to say on October 6 someone is or isn’t our first baseman,” Boston’s Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow said at the end-of-season press conference on Oct. 6. “We’ll see how things play out. Unfortunately, Triston has missed a significant amount of time over the last two years. We’ve also seen what he is capable of doing when he is healthy.”
Free agent options at first base are very limited – at least domestically.
Pete Alonso told the New York Mets that he was opting out of his contract, and he will be one of the most sought-after free agents available this offseason. Josh Naylor will raise some interest, if Seattle doesn’t make a push to resign him.
But perhaps the most intriguing option will soon be available on the international market.
NPB’s Yomiuri Giants Announce Kazuma Okamoto Will Be Posted for MLB Clubs
During a press conference on Wednesday, the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball announced that infielder Kazuma Okamoto will be posted for MLB clubs this offseason. For the Red Sox, that posting could not come at a better time.
Okamoto isn’t a household name in America yet, but his résumé in Japan suggests he should be. Over ten seasons with Yomiuri, the 29-year-old has hit 274 home runs while slashing .277/.361/.521, posting six 30-plus homer campaigns and establishing himself as one of the NPB’s premier run producers.
Even after an elbow injury shortened his 2025 season to 69 games, Okamoto still managed a .327 average with 15 homers, 21 doubles, and an on-base percentage north of .410. For a Boston team starving for consistent right-handed power, that kind of production demands attention.
What makes Okamoto more than just a big bat is how refined his approach has become. He struck out in only 11 percent of his plate appearances in 2025 while walking nearly as often — a profile that mirrors the disciplined style Boston’s hitting department has been preaching throughout the organization. He can handle velocity, he works counts, and he doesn’t chase out of the zone. It’s the type of skill set that travels well from Tokyo to Fenway.
Kazuma Okamoto Could be the Answer at First Base for the Red Sox
Defensively, Okamoto has experience at both corner infield spots but is considered a natural fit at first base in the majors. Scouts describe him as steady with soft hands and strong footwork, traits that could immediately stabilize the right side of Boston’s infield. And while there’s always an adjustment period for players coming over from NPB, Okamoto’s size (6-foot, 212 pounds) and compact, efficient swing give him a real chance to translate quickly.
It’s little wonder Red Sox insider Tyler Milliken took to X (formerly Twitter) after the posting news broke, calling Okamoto “definitely someone I hope the Red Sox heavily consider at 1B.” Milliken cited the same numbers that make talent evaluators take notice — elite contact rate, legitimate pop, and an approach built for the modern game. In a market light on impact first basemen, Okamoto stands out as both a need fit and a value play.
There’s risk in every international signing, but for a team trying to bridge the gap between a promising young core and a return to contention, this one feels worth taking. Okamoto’s combination of power, patience, and professionalism is rare, and it fits the identity Boston wants to build under Breslow — disciplined at-bats, reliable defense, and sustainable production.
If the Red Sox are serious about stabilizing first base for the next half-decade, Kazuma Okamoto might just be the answer. And this time, the long-term solution might come not from within the system, but from half a world away.
Yankees Legend's World Series Journey Saw Many Detours
The New York Yankees were in Toronto when they clinched the Wild Card in 1995. The moment was special for more reasons than it being the organization's first postseason appearance since 1981. It would mark the first time that Don Mattingly would be playing October baseball.
A cathartic Mattingly got on his knees and pounded Toronto's turf after the clincher. Mattingly, who debuted a year after the Los Angeles Dodgers bested the Yankees in the World Series, waited 1,785 days to get there. In those final weeks of the season, he hit .346/.417/.558 in 60 plate appearances, playing his part to ensure that he felt what it was like to play in the fall.
Mattingly's Long Journey
Reaching the World Series has been another story entirely for Mattingly. That journey has been longer. Between playing, coaching, and managing, Mattingly has finally arrived after 5,231 games.
"Obviously, it feels great to get there, and I feel like we're gonna play well too," Mattingly told Sweeny Murti for MLB.com. "Paul O'Neill told me once you get to the World Series, it's almost like this is the fun part. The feeling of fighting to get there is so tense. So, yes, I'm going to enjoy it. It's been really fun."
Very few have seen the things Mattingly has seen. In his prime, he got to play with Dave Winfield and Rickey Henderson. His first and only playoff home run had Yankee Stadium shaking.
Mattingly would return to the postseason as a coach. He sat beside Joe Torre as the organization collapsed in 2004. Those Red Sox leapfrogged over the Yankees to snap their 86-year curse. In 2015, he was in a similar position. In the NLCS, Mattingly watched a Chicago Cubs team snap their 108-year-old drought as his Dodgers fell in six games.
It looked like another team with another long World Series drought would send Mattingly home. It didn't happen, though, and it proved to be a full circle moment on two fronts. Those same Mariners who eliminated his Yankees in 1995 took the Blue Jays to seven games, but a George Springer home run sealed the deal for Toronto. Now, Mattingly's journey to the World Series ends in the same country where his playoff road began decades earlier.
Mattingly's Own Words
Mattingly described his route to the World Series as a "long road" to columnist Bill Madden of the Daily News.
“To be honest, I still don’t have the words,” Mattingly said. “It’s been a long road, but I always believed, although I didn’t think it would be Toronto. But this is a real team, a tough team that’s grown together and shown what can happen when you play good defense, put runners on base, keep making contact. All of that.”
What's most unfortunate is that if Mattingly does win his first championship, it won't be with the Yankees. He has two Steinbrenners to thank for that one. George's meddling in the 1980s kept the Yankees out, and Hal's conservative approach to roster building, often prioritizing costs over the product on the field, made the Blue Jays' dismantling of the Yankees feel like light work.
While Mattingly probably never guessed this opportunity would happen in Toronto, he'll probably take it. The captain has earned it after all these years.
