One day after he was hit in the hand by a ground ball, first baseman Triston Casas was not in the Boston Red Sox lineup Tuesday.
According to Ian Browne of MLB.com, Casas underwent x-rays on his right hand after Boston beat the Sultanes de Monterrey in an exhibition game on Monday in Mexico. Fortunately for Casas and the Red Sox, the X-rays came back negative.
Perhaps as a precaution, the Red Sox did not have Casas in their lineup for the rematch. Manager Alex Cora listed Nick Sogard as his first baseman instead.
Casas, a 2023 American League Rookie of the Year Award finalist, batted .195 with a .340 on-base percentage and a .366 slugging percentage in 16 exhibition games for the Red Sox.
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An injury limited Casas to 63 games in 2024. The Red Sox were counting on a bounceback season from him in 2025 after rumors swirled around his availability in offseason trades. For keeping Casas to be the correct decision, he had to be available.
When healthy, Casas has been a productive anchor in Cora's lineup. In 222 major league games, Casas has hit 42 home runs, driven in 109 runs, and slashed .250/.357/.473. He has a career .830 OPS (125 OPS+).
But the 25-year-old has also missed significant time in his young career with injuries. He finished the 2023 season on the injured list with right shoulder inflammation. Last year, he missed four months due to a left rib strain.
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Boston drafted Casas in the first round (26th overall) in the 2018 MLB draft. After a 27-game cameo in 2022, he burst onto the scene in 2023 as one of the team's most exciting homegrown prospects since its last World Series appearance in 2018.
That year, Casas slashed .263/.367/.490 with 24 home runs, 65 RBIs, and an .856 OPS (129 OPS+). He finished third in AL Rookie of the Year voting behind only Gunnar Henderson of the Baltimore Orioles and Cleveland Guardians pitcher Tanner Bibee.
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Now, Casas is in line to help the Red Sox return to the postseason after a three-year absence. They acquired arguably the best player to be traded over the winter (pitcher Garrett Crochet) and invested more than $150 million in three free agents: Alex Bregman, Walker Buehler and Aroldis Chapman.
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