Willson Contreras gives the Red Sox something they lacked for most of 2025: A middle-of-the-order first baseman.

While Triston Casas occupied that role to open the season, he struggled early (.182/.277/.303 in 29 games) before he suffered a rupture of the patella tendon in his left knee in early May.

The Sox never found a steady solution at the position, instead working through platoons involving Abraham Toro, Romy Gonzalez, Nathaniel Lowe, and Nick Sogard. From the day that Casas landed on the injured list (May 4), Red Sox first basemen ranked 19th in the big leagues in average (.254) and slugging (.402), and 21st in OBP (.308). The Sox hope that Contreras — who graded as an above-average defensive first baseman — can deliver above-average offensive and defensive production.

But what does that mean for Casas?

The 25-year-old (who turns 26 in January) has spent the offseason rehabbing in Fort Myers. The Sox have offered positive reports about his progress in recovering from the injury and subsequent surgery while remaining non-committal about whether he’ll be ready for the start of the season.

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But after he has played just 92 games over the last two years while hitting .222/.318/.412, the Sox had obvious reservations about his health and projected production — even as they continue to see him as a player with a chance to make a significant impact based on his power and disciplined offensive approach.

“It’s no secret that Triston has tremendous potential, but also hasn’t been able to stay on the field the last couple of years, thanks to two really unfortunate but significant injuries,” chief baseball officer Craig Breslow said. “I had a chance to talk to Triston [Monday] morning, and what I told him is exactly what I’ll share with all of you, which is we still have a ton of confidence and belief in Triston. What he needs to do is commit to doing everything possible to get back on the field.

“He’s doing that right now. He feels really good with the progress, and there’s going to be an opportunity for him to impact games for us. Exactly what that looks like, we’ll figure out. But he was great in our conversation, and understood that this was an opportunity for the organization to take a step forward, and fully supported it.”

Newly acquired Willson Contreras is expected to be start at first base for the Red Sox next season.Jeff Roberson/Associated Press

What might a big league role for Casas look like with Contreras on the team?

“Those things tend to work out. Opportunity to keep everybody fresh, to keep everybody involved and engaged,” said Breslow. “At the same time, as we sit here in late-December with Triston coming off of a season-ending injury, to get too far ahead of our ahead of ourselves probably doesn’t make a ton of sense. To have righthanded impact, lefthanded impact, both guys that can hit the ball out of the park, it’s going to make us better.”

If Casas isn’t able to have a full buildup in spring training, he could begin the year on a rehab assignment. And even if he does have a full buildup, it’s possible that given the amount of playing time Casas has missed, the Sox could consider optioning him to Triple-A to begin the year to permit him to eliminate rust.

If that happened, the Sox could give at-bats early in the season to both Contreras as their primary first baseman and Masataka Yoshida as a DH (while also using the designated hitter spot to get at-bats for their four outfielders). Such an approach would buy time for both Yoshida (who hasn’t been at full strength since the middle of 2023) and Casas to re-establish themselves, whether to define their roles with the Red Sox or to restore their trade value while also providing the team with positional depth.

It’s also possible the Sox could explore trades involving Casas, as some evaluators still see exactly what Breslow described — a player with middle-of-the-order potential, but considerable uncertainty about the likelihood that he’ll achieve it based on his big league arc. But those teams almost certainly would be looking to buy low on a player who has played in just 28 percent of his team’s big league games over the last two years.

Alex Speier can be reached at alex.speier@globe.com. Follow him @alexspeier.