One of the key questions that surfaced in the wake of the Boston Red Sox’s trade for Willson Contreras was what would become of Triston Casas.

Casas has missed 230 games due to injury since the start of last season, which was a big reason the Red Sox felt they had to fortify first base with the addition of Contreras. But Boston has also seen Casas perform at the highest level when healthy, and with his 26th birthday next month, it could still be too early to give up on his talent.

Amid plenty of speculation that Casas could be traded, Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow addressed the future of Boston’s most physically imposing slugger on Monday.

If you like our content, choose Sports Illustrated as a preferred source on Google.

Breslow expresses confidence in Casas

Breslow told the media that he spoke to Casas on Monday to discuss the Contreras trade, and said outright that the Red Sox still envision his lefty bat playing a role this season.

“We still have a ton of confidence and belief in Triston,” Breslow said, per Chris Cotillo of MassLive. “There’s going to be an opportunity for him to impact games for us.”

The subtext here may well be that Masataka Yoshida’s days in a Red Sox uniform are over. If Casas stays and plays most of the team’s games, the math quickly adds up to Yoshida being out of the lineup, except perhaps on a rare off-day for Contreras or a game he catches (which Breslow didn’t fully rule out, but hinted was unlikely).

Meanwhile, after failing to placate Rafael Devers with his communications about the Alex Bregman signing last winter, Breslow will be under a microscope moving forward for how he maneuvers in these delicate situations.

It will be interesting to hear Casas’ perspective on the interaction when he next speaks to the media. The first baseman certainly isn’t shy about expressing his true opinions on these sorts of matters.

The Red Sox have the flexibility to send Casas to Triple-A for the start of the season if they so choose, allowing him to get back to speed at his own pace after recovering from a torn patellar tendon. But Casas won’t want that forced on him; he’d much rather win a job during spring training.

And, of course, it’s not as though Breslow talking Casas up makes a trade impossible. It just wouldn’t make a ton of sense to do so while his value is low.

More MLB: Red Sox Prediction: One Final Blockbuster After Willson Contreras Deal