The Red Sox made a significant splash last month by completing their second trade with the Cardinals this offseason, acquiring first baseman Willson Contreras. The move was designed to solidify the position and move away from the platoon approach Boston has relied on in recent seasons.<\/p>\n
With Contreras now in the fold, questions naturally arise about how the Red Sox will deploy Triston Casas during the 2026 season. Speaking with reporters at Fenway Fest in Boston on Saturday, Casas said the acquisition did not serve as a wake-up call.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe first baseman position for this team has lacked, over the last couple of years, the production from that spot,\u201d Casas said. \u201cAs of right now, the way that it is, he\u2019s a better player than me and has been for his entire career. To upgrade a position that has been deficient for the last two years is exactly what the team needed. Hopefully, I can come back to the player I was a couple of years ago and know what I can be and contribute to the team in whatever fashion and at whatever position they see fit for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Casas, 25, is currently rehabbing from a ruptured patellar tendon in his right knee, an injury he suffered in a collision while running down the first-base line on May 2. While he\u2019s targeting an Opening Day return, the severity of the injury\u2014combined with his recent injury history\u2014made it impossible for Boston to structure its 2026 plans around the assumption he would be ready at the start of the season.<\/p>\n
If healthy, Casas could split time with Contreras at first base and at designated hitter. However, Boston still has Masataka Yoshida on the roster, and he will also need time at DH.<\/p>\n
After completing the trade, chief baseball officer Craig Breslow reached out directly to Casas to explain the organization\u2019s thinking.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s no secret that Triston has tremendous potential,\u201d Breslow said before addressing the media about the Contreras acquisition. \u201cBut he also hasn\u2019t been able to stay on the field the last couple of years thanks to two really unfortunate\u2014but significant\u2014injuries.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Red Sox aren\u2019t questioning Casas\u2019 upside. Instead, they\u2019re acknowledging a pattern that has limited his availability at the major league level\u2014and adjusting accordingly.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had a chance to talk to Triston this morning, and what I told him is exactly what I\u2019ll share with all of you,\u201d Breslow said. \u201cWe 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\u2019s doing that right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Casas understands why Boston made the move and believes he can still carve out a role on the 26-man roster.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t have any expectation for that,\u201d Casas said of his role. \u201cI expect (Contreras) is going to get a lot of reps at first base. I don\u2019t think he\u2019s been playing the position for very long, but his defensive numbers have been quite stellar considering the change from catcher to first base. I think everybody\u2019s impressed. I expect him to get that role, at least to start the season, but there\u2019s going to be a lot of turnover on the roster like there is every year. Hopefully, I can find a spot to make my mark.\u201d<\/p>\n
Both Breslow and manager Alex Cora have emphasized that getting healthy is Casas\u2019 primary objective early in camp, and it\u2019s likely he\u2019ll be behind other position players when the team reports to Fort Myers next month. Casas hopes to appear in spring training games ahead of his early-season return and plans to let his role sort itself out.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m trying to control what I can,\u201d Casas said. \u201cIt hasn\u2019t worked out for me how I imagined it, but that doesn\u2019t mean this year I can\u2019t rewrite that script.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve had no wake-up calls my whole life. I\u2019ve tried to stay ahead of the curve, and this is going to be no different.\u201d<\/p>\n
If Casas can stay healthy and put together productive full seasons, it would provide a major boost to the Red Sox lineup and roster flexibility. He burst onto the scene during his rookie campaign, finishing third in American League Rookie of the Year voting after hitting .263 with 24 home runs, 21 doubles, and an .856 OPS in 132 games.<\/p>\n
A cartilage tear in his rib cage limited him to just 63 games in 2024, and the knee injury cut short his 2025 season after only 29 appearances.<\/p>\n
Casas has the talent to be an impactful major league hitter, but injuries have slowed the start of his career.<\/p>\n
\u201cI definitely believe in my abilities and think they\u2019re up there with the best in the game,\u201d Casas said. \u201cI\u2019ve just got to be on the field and stay healthy to get that sample size.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve had good stretches as a major league player. I\u2019ve had mostly bad ones. I see and know the habits of the best, and I think I\u2019m right there with them. I haven\u2019t shown it on the field yet, but mentally, I still believe I have the potential to be an All-Star-caliber player.\u201d<\/p>\n
Casas has been participating in baseball activities, but there\u2019s still doubt he\u2019ll be ready for Opening Day.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI definitely want to make an impact from the first day,\u201d Casas said Saturday. \u201cThat\u2019d be 11 months from the surgery. So that would be a tight squeeze in terms of the relative overall consensus of how long it would take to recover from what I had injured, but it\u2019s not unrealistic. I\u2019ve talked to other players who have had the injury and they\u2019ve said 11 months is very reasonable. So as of right now, not too sure. Not trying to get ahead of myself, but I do see myself progressing well enough to maybe get into some spring training games. We\u2019ll see how that goes because that\u2019s a benchmark as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said he\u2019s increasing the volume of baseball activities, but doesn\u2019t want to rush anything within his rehab.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cRight around the 12-month mark is typically when all activity is supposed to return to normal,\u201d Casas said. \u201cThat\u2019s for me to I guess decide in a couple months \u2014 how I\u2019m feeling up at that point. But I like the way I\u2019m progressing. I\u2019ve met every benchmark that I\u2019ve had to up to now. I don\u2019t know if it\u2019s a good thing or a bad thing, but I surprise myself a lot just expecting pain in certain exercises that I don\u2019t have and I\u2019m happy about that.”<\/p>\n
With spring training less than a month away, the Red Sox still have work to do as they finalize their roster for the 2026 season. That uncertainty hasn\u2019t stopped Cora from locking in one key lineup decision with Contreras expected to hit cleanup.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know Willson will probably hit fourth. I know that one,\u201d Cora said Saturday at Fenway Fest at Fenway Park.<\/p>\n
Contreras represents the most significant addition of Boston\u2019s offseason. With first base a revolving door in recent seasons, the veteran slugger arrives as the club\u2019s clear everyday option.<\/p>\n
\u201cWillson\u2019s going to bring a lot,\u201d Cora said. \u201cHe hits the ball hard. It\u2019s a good at-bat. He drives the ball to right-center, but last year, he pulled the ball a little more than usual, which is awesome for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
While Contreras appears cemented in the heart of the order, the rest of the lineup remains very much in flux \u2014 particularly at the top.<\/p>\n
Cora admitted he has no clear answer yet for who will lead off, with Roman Anthony\u00a0and\u00a0Jarren Duran both expected to be in the mix.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not there yet, to be honest,\u201d Cora said. \u201cUsually by this point, I have a pretty good idea what we\u2019re going to do. But honestly, I have no idea. We have to wait and see what the roster is going to look like. A few positions are going to be battles, and that\u2019s going to dictate what we do.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor the first time in years, I don\u2019t know how we\u2019re going to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Outside of Anthony and Duran, there are few obvious leadoff candidates on the roster. Cora emphasized his desire to build a balanced lineup, alternating left- and right-handed hitters \u2014 even if the roster remains heavily left-handed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI still believe we\u2019re very left-handed,\u201d Cora said. \u201cBut at the same time, we were very left-handed last year and still scored runs. We just have to create balance \u2014 by trades, free agency, or developing guys. We\u2019ll see where we\u2019re at when we get to Fort Myers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite persistent offseason speculation, it does not appear the Red Sox are eager to trade from their outfield depth. That means Duran and Wilyer Abreu are expected to report to camp in February.<\/p>\n
Breslow addressed rumors suggesting the club has shopped Duran or Abreu to reporters at Fenway Fest.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Red Sox made a significant splash last month by completing their second trade with the Cardinals this…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":516191,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2290],"tags":[5,48,89,63300,63118,63120],"class_list":["post-516190","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-baseball","tag-baseball","tag-boston-red-sox","tag-red-sox","tag-sunday-notebooks","tag-top-red-sox","tag-top-story-2"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/115880067305998863","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/516190","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=516190"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/516190\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/516191"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=516190"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=516190"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=516190"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}