The Boston Red Sox should be solidified as trade deadline buyers. Now, the question is what they can get.

ESPN’s Jeff Passan raised eyebrows on Wednesday with a suggestion that the Red Sox could have a fairly boring deadline. They’ve publicly stated that they want to add “impact” starting pitching, but the market looks awfully pricy for anyone under contract beyond 2025.

But the problem the Red Sox haven’t talked enough about is first base, where Abraham Toro has cooled off dramatically as the left-handed half of the platoon. That was to be expected, based on Toro’s career trajectory, and it would be prudent to add a veteran first baseman with a more reliable bat.

That’s where Josh Naylor of the Arizona Diamondbacks could come in.

On Thursday, Will Laws and Nick Selbe of Sports Illustrated predicted that the Red Sox would acquire Naylor, who hits free agency in the winter, to bolster the first baseman ahead of the Jul. 31 deadline.

“A 2024 All-Star with the Cleveland Guardians, Naylor is enjoying his fourth straight above-average offensive season following an offseason trade to Arizona and its hitter-friendly confines, where his OPS is more than 100 points higher than on the road,” wrote Laws and Selbe.

“Still, he’s one of just 12 qualified players batting at least .290 with an OPS over .800. Naylor, like Suárez, is set to be a free agent this offseason and a number of teams in need of a bat could sway the D-Backs into selling.”

Naylor is making $10.9 million this season, so the D-backs have some incentive to save on payroll if they can offload him. He’s probably not going to get a qualifying offer, so it makes sense to get some value back for him while Arizona can.

That gives the Red Sox the opportunity to get the upgrade they need at a potentially reasonable cost, though they’ll certainly still have to give up some decent prospects to pry him loose.