Padres should pivot from Jarren Duran trade dream to a new Red Sox target

If you’re still daydreaming about the San Diego Padres pulling off a Jarren Duran heist, we totally respect the optimism, but that one feels like the kind of trade talk that may have died the second Boston sobered up.

The more realistic Red Sox pivot just landed in San Diego’s lap, and it came wearing a first baseman’s mitt.

Red Sox landing Willson Contreras could make Triston Casas a Padres target

Boston’s trade for Willson Contreras isn’t just a “nice add a bat” move, it’s a roster decision that quietly tells you who might be next on the runway. If the Red Sox just committed real money and everyday reps to a veteran 1B, it naturally opens the door for Triston Casas to become the chess piece instead of the cornerstone. 

And yeah, the Padres should be interested… for a very Padres reason: this is the exact type of “buy low, dream big” swing A.J. Preller loves when it fills a real need.

San Diego’s first base situation has been functional, not scary. Jake Cronenworth can survive over there for the 2026 season, but he’s not the classic first-base body or glove you build around, and asking him to moonlight there long-term is basically admitting you’re fine with good enough. (If you want the cleanest Plan B on the open market, Luis Arraez is still sitting in free agency — but that’s a different lane.)

Casas, on the other hand, is the type of hitter who changes how pitchers attack you. He’s a lefty with legitimate thump and a patient, annoying-at-bats approach. In 2023, he hit 24 homers and finished third in AL Rookie of the Year voting while posting a .263/.367/.490 slash line. 

But there’s always a big catch with these types of players: Casas has been banged up. He missed the rest of 2025 with a left patellar tendon rupture, and the year before that he was limited to 63 games by a rib injury. That injury history is exactly why this conversation exists now, and why Contreras showing up in Boston matters. If the Red Sox decide they can’t wait for a perfect return timeline (or they just want to cash in on name value), that’s where the Padres should be ready to pounce.

Because if you’re going to gamble, gamble on a 26-year-old first baseman with real power and on-base skills — not an outfield trade dream that never makes it past the group chat.