In case of emergency, put at first base.
These are all names Abraham Toro could have been known as in 2025. And some of them he actually was, as least from time to time.
When Triston Casas went down and Rafael Devers refused to consider helping at first base, Toro arrived. And despite not much success in the past as a guy filling in at the corners (mid-.600 OPS across his career) Toro put together a bit of a hot streak. In May he slashed .296/.296/.537 with 3 home runs and, you guessed it, zero walks. In June he spread out the production a little more hitting .279/.354/.407 with 2 home runs and 8 walks. This is everything the Red Sox could have wanted, And while he was here, Marcelo Mayer and Roman Anthony were called up and helping the big league team. Toro had plugged the hole in a way no minor league free agent could have been expected to.
As June turned to July and July turned to August, Abraham Toro was exposed. He’d put up and OPS well under .600 over those two months. Craig Breslow would not acquire help at first base at the deadline, instead relying on Toro and Romy Gonzalez (who was coming into his own). While the Red Sox would later add Nathaniel Lowe to the fold, in the meantime first base was as painful as watching Orson Welles sell wine.
As they say, all good things must come to an end.
They actually lost the game in this highlight, but time after time after time we saw Abraham Toro stretch as far as his 6’0” would allow to make these plays happen. It’s not like he was a Gold Glover at first, but he somehow managed to Stretch Armstrong his way into a number of these catches, not truly falling down until after the out was recorded.
Will Toro be back? The 28-year old is arbitration eligible, which probably doesn’t bode well for sticking around. However he’d be nice to have in Worcester again for depth, depending on who is in line to play first base on an everyday basis.
If Abraham Toro can be retained, he’s a good stopgap at first base. If the absolute worst happens, he can definitely give you a month or so where it isn’t obvious why he doesn’t have an everyday job. A .650 OPS is bad — especially for first base — but that’s really his average performance and something you will take in a pinch. He can hit a little bit. He can be patient enough. He can show some pop. He probably doesn’t have a role in Boston anymore with the emergence of Romy Gonzalez and a hopefully healthy Triston Casas or a replacement starter at first base. Houston, Seattle, Milwaukee, and formerly Oakland have all given him stints in the major leagues, which is a lot of teams for a seven year career but also shows a lot of interest. There is something to get out of Abraham Toro.
