The Red Sox draft pick had interesting comments about his preparation for the big leagues.
The Boston Red Sox are still eating away at Pablo Sandoval‘s contract following his release in July last season.
Red Sox draft pick Triston Casas wants to help the Fenway faithful forget about Sandoval’s time at third base, per Boston dot com’s Mark Dunphy. Casas was committed to the University of Miami but decided to take the quicker road to the pros.
"“I’m not going to lie – I love the city of Boston,” Casas said. “I like this fit. It’s going to be hard for me to turn this down.”"
When asked if the 18 year old would stay at third base, Casas threw some shade at Sandoval.
"“Obviously watch my weight, ” he said, per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand. “There was another third baseman in Boston called [Pablo] Sandoval who had some problems. Just stay agile, continue to take a lot of ground balls and keep doing my thing.”"
Casas, who is listed as 6-feet-4 and 238 pounds, wasted no time in assuring Red Sox fans he was up to the challenge of keeping himself fit. This is music to the ears of Red Sox fans, who suffered through Sandoval’s ineptitude and injury during his time in Boston. Anytime an athlete busts his belt open when swinging a bat, his career has taken a turn for the worst.
Casas aims to please Red Sox fans with his athleticism, bu his raw power is well-documented, as he once hit a 516-foot home run. The lefty has a smooth, compact swing that translates well for Fenway Park.
Red Sox first round pick Triston Casas hitting a piss missile pic.twitter.com/bdqPyazPWb
— Jared Carrabis (@Jared_Carrabis) June 5, 2018
The Red Sox have hyped many prospects before, only to see them fall well short of expectations. However, the raw talent Casas has would be a nice addition to the Red Sox lineup. Between Casas and Rafael Devers, the Red Sox are poised to have a power hitting duo to haunt the rest of the AL East for years.
There’s no doubt Casas and Devers are both capable of playing third base, but it’ll be interesting to see who is forced to switch to first base once Mitch Moreland leaves.
Devers has struggled to find consistency at the plate and has misplayed many routine ground balls. He’s still a rookie, but the alarming errors may prove that Devers is destined to outgrow third base and move over to first.
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Will Casas be able to stay fit enough for third base? Time will tell. The offense Casas brings promising, but if he outgrows third base, then what? The Red Sox are looking at a possible conundrum in the future, with two young, tall athletes who may be too big for third base.