Red Sox could target $11.5 million Orioles All-Star, per insider

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The Boston Red Sox are red-hot entering the All-Star break. After falling to 42-45 on the season, the Red Sox have won 10 consecutive games and are in the second American League Wild Card spot.

This comes after they made the shocking decision to trade slugger Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants. Clearly, the Sox haven't missed a beat since the deal was made.

However, they now are in position to buy at the trade deadline rather than sell, and they have some holes to fill. They could use some help at first base.

Sean McAdam of the MassLive.com proposed the idea of the Red Sox trading for Ryan O'Hearn of the Baltimore Orioles.

"Triston Casas has a long recovery road ahead of him, but could still be the first baseman of the future as soon as Opening Day 2026. That would make Arizona’s Josh Naylor, who will be a free agent at the end of the year, a logical target if — and that’s a big ‘if’ – the Diamondbacks decide to sell. Other possibilities could include Baltimore’s Ryan O’Hearn and Cleveland’s Carlos Santana, each also in their walk year," McAdam said.

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O'Hearn is putting together a strong year in Baltimore and has even earned his first All-Star nod. He is hitting .286/.382/.458 with 11 home runs, 34 RBI, a 1.7 WAR and an .840 OPS.

The Orioles are likely to sell after falling out of postseason contention early in the season. It's important to note that trades within the same division are exceptionally rare, as Boston and Baltimore are AL East rivals.

However, they do happen from time to time, and Boston would significantly benefit from having O'Hearn in its lineup for the stretch run. He provides power from the left side of the plate and can play first base, which is what Boston needs.

With Casas out for the year, it would make sense to target O'Hearn as they try to continue their surge in the second half. It will certainly be interesting to see how Boston navigates the deadline.

More MLB: Red Sox's interest in trade for former Cy Young winner revealed

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