Red Sox first baseman Triston Casas has not played for the Tigres del Licey of the Dominican Winter League since October 17 due to knee soreness.
Casas, who went 2-for-9 (.222) with an RBI, two runs scored, five walks, and three strikeouts in his first three games with Licey, recently flew back to Boston to undergo an MRI on his sore knee.
The imaging revealed no structural damage and the Red Sox are optimistic the 22-year-old will be able to return to the Dominican Republic in the near future, chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom told The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier on Tuesday.
“We brought him back to Boston, just to make sure that we felt good about everything and get checked out here. We didn’t have concern [based] off of that,” Bloom said. “He’s still in the states right now. But hopefully, he’ll be back down there soon and get ramped up and play a little more.”
Prior to making his major-league debut in September, Casas missed nearly two months of the minor-league season with a high right ankle sprain. Because he was sidelined for so long over the summer, the Red Sox opted to have Casas play winter ball so he could make up for lost time by seeing more live pitching.
It also helps that Red Sox third base coach Carlos Febles is serving as Licey’s bench coach, so the organization has had boots on the ground when it comes to Casas’ wellbeing. If Casas is to return to Licey’s lineup in the coming days or weeks, it is worth mentioning that the Dominican Winter League regular season runs through December 16.
Casas, who turns 23 in January, appeared in 27 games for the Sox towards the end of the 2022 campaign. The left-handed hitter batted .197/.358/.408 with one double, five home runs, 12 RBIs, 11 runs scored, one stolen base, 19 walks, and 23 strikeouts across 95 trips to the plate.
If healthy, Casas is expected to emerge as Boston’s everyday first baseman in 2023. That said, he could have to compete with the likes of Bobby Dalbec and Eric Hosmer for the starting job during spring training.
(Picture of Triston Casas: Omar Rawlings/Getty Images)
Blogging the Red Sox 