hen the Boston Red Sox signed power-hitting first baseman Nathaniel Lowe on Monday, after the Washington Nationals released the 30-year-old, it appeared that Abraham Toro’s days in Boston were numbered.
Though by early afternoon the Red Sox had not issued a statement, beat reporter Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reported that Boston had designated Toro for assignment Thursday.
The Red Sox signed Toro, playing for the fifth team of his seven-year career, to a minor league contract in the offseason. He caught the club’s attention in spring training, pounding out 13 hits including a pair of home runs in 42 at-bats for an impressive .951 preseason OPS.
So when regular first baseman Triston Casas saw his season end after just 29 games with a ruptured patellar tendon, Toro got the call and made an immediate impact, pounding out three homers and four doubles in May alone, establishing himself as an immediate fan favorite at Fenway.
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His May OPS of .833 tailed off to .761 in June, but that was still enough to make the 28-year-old native Canadian a solid asset to the Red Sox lineup.
But as the calendar flipped to July, Toro reverted to the form that has kept him bouncing between the minor leagues and reserve roles in the big leagues since his debut in 2019. His OPS over his last 19 games dropped to just .447.
To take Toro’s place on the 26-man roster, according to McCaffrey, the Red Sox recalled infielder David Hamilton from Triple-A Worcester, after he was optioned him there just 10 days ago. The move was not popular with Boston fans.
“One step forward….two steps back smh it should’ve been Password or Campbell,” wrote one fan online — referring to Red Sox minor leaguer Jhostynxon “The Password” Garcia and Kristian Campbell.
“Is it too much to ask for David Hamilton to never see the MLB roster again? Feel like it’s a fair request,” wrote another.
“David Hamilton should not ever start a game for the rest of the season and should be only a pinch runner/ defensive replacement late in games,” another fan posted.
Other than stolen bases, of which Hamilton has 17 this season, Toro has outperformed Hamilton in every offensive category. Even Toro’s modest full-season OPS of .672 is significantly better than Hamilton’s (.492).
