The Boston Red Sox’s dilemma at first base has temporarily shifted focus away from their crowded outfield. It’s thrilling to have the top prospect in baseball, and the Red Sox boast 20-year-old outfielder Roman Anthony in that role. However, bringing Anthony up to play regularly would necessitate benching someone who arguably deserves to stay in the lineup.

Left fielder Jarren Duran was an All-Star last year, and right fielder Wilyer Abreu is currently enjoying a breakout season. This leaves center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela as the likely odd-man-out, though losing his outstanding defense would be a hard pill to swallow. At 24, Rafaela hasn’t yet developed into the hitter the Red Sox anticipated in his first 200-plus major league games.

Nevertheless, he could still hold trade value if Boston opts to trade him rather than relegating him to a bench or utility role. On Wednesday, Jon Vankin from Newsweek suggested the Los Angeles Dodgers as a potential destination for Rafaela and proposed that the Red Sox could request underperforming veteran slugger Max Muncy in exchange to address their first-base concern.

“Who might the Dodgers offer in return? Not the struggling Conforto. But the Red Sox have an opening at first base due to the season-ending injury of fourth-year first baseman Triston Casas last week,” Vankin noted. “Dodgers’ 34-year-old third baseman Max Muncy has played 297 major league games at first base.

Transitioning across the diamond should be a natural move for him. Muncy is in the second year of his two-year contract and would be owed the remaining $14.5 million.” It’s difficult to predict the thoughts of a front office. Yet, it’s somewhat challenging to imagine the Dodgers, even with Muncy’s early-season struggles, parting with a two-time All-Star during a championship pursuit.

The Dodgers might still covet Rafaela even if Muncy isn’t an option. Teoscar Hernández is injured, and Michael Conforto has been in a slump all season, making their outfield depth more fragile than usual. However, as hypothetical trade scenarios go, a straight swap of Muncy for Rafaela is hard to accept at first glance.