Red Sox Provide Triston Casas Role Reassurance Before Opening Day

The Boston Red Sox have complete faith in first baseman Triston Casas entering 2025.

Casas, a left-handed hitter, won’t lose any at-bats this upcoming season, regardless of who’s on the mound pitching against Boston. The Red Sox, as opposed to substituting Casas with a right-handed hitter against left-handed pitching, intend to entrust the 25-year-old as their full-time first baseman, no matter what.

“He will play. He’s going to play against lefties and righties,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said Tuesday, per MLB.com’s Ian Browne. “We’re not going to platoon at first base.”

Boston didn’t get to see much of Casas last season as the former prospect slugger was limited to 63 games after suffering a left rub cartilage tear in April. Casas finished the campaign hitting .241/.337/.462 with 13 home runs and 32 RBIs, fresh off his first full season with the team in which Casas made a solid second-half run toward finishing third in the American League Rookie of the Year vote.

Casas was slated to play a major role in bolstering the team’s lineup in search of its first playoff appearance since 2021. That never came to fruition, but now with Casas fully healthy, the roster entirely improved and the organization as a whole re-energized, the Red Sox could witness the Casas breakout at just the perfect time. The front office did its part surrounding returning players, including Casas, with additions to the rotation, bullpen and lineup, projected to boost Boston’s postseason odds immensely.

The team caught a glimpse of the damage Casas could inflict on pitchers when he hit .349 in the month of July and crushed 15 home runs across the final 60 games of 2023. Granted, the lefty-lefty matchup was a concern as Casas’ batting average of .274 when facing right-handed pitchers dipped to .215 when southpaws took the mound instead.

Casas was appreciative when Cora relayed the message to him, acknowledging that 2025 will serve as a challenge for the fourth-year veteran.

“It means a lot,” Casas said, per Browne. “I’ve been waiting my entire life for this opportunity. Throughout the Minor Leagues, even my first couple years in the Majors, I’ve been learning from a lot of the veterans how to go about playing every day, and I think it’s culminating into a perfect storm for me to be able to handle that opportunity. And I’m excited for the challenge.”

Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow also shares the sentiment of handing Casas the keys in the batter’s box, claiming the youngster could be baseball’s next to crush 40 home runs with 120 RBIs. Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge were MLB’s only two players to achieve that feat last season and ex-Boston slugger J.D. Martinez was the last to do so in a Red Sox uniform.

It’s a high bar, but one Casas isn’t discouraged or overwhelmed by.

“I appreciate (Breslow’s) vote of confidence in myself, but that is the caliber of hitter that I need to be to stay in this position that I am,” Casas said this spring, per The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier. “I’ve put in plenty of work to be able to go out there and accomplish it, but it’s just a matter of staying healthy and being out there on the field for, say, 150-plus games. I think that it’s very reasonable.”