Red Sox rookie’s knee injury is officially cause for concern
After a season marred with injury after injury, the last thing the Boston Red Sox need is to be concerned with another injury before the offseason even begins, especially when it’s their prized rookie, Triston Casas.
Casas, their first-round pick in 2018 who made his long-awaited big-league debut in September, has been playing with the Tigres del Licey in the Dominican League but hasn’t played since October 17. What was initially described as knee soreness/discomfort expected to only keep him out of the lineup for a few days, has now sidelined him for weeks.
Red Sox rookie Triston Casas returned to Boston to have knee evaluated
The Red Sox were worried enough to bring Casas back to Boston to be evaluated, but with everything the organization has gone through over the past few years from an injury standpoint, it would be odd if they weren’t concerned:
“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,” said chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom. “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.”via Boston Globe(subscription required)
In a small sample size of 27 big-league games, the 22-year-old displayed impressive plate discipline, drawing a walk (19) for every time he struck out (23). He collected 15 hits, including a double and five home runs, and even stole a base.
Most impressive was the way he quickly made adjustments to improve his plate appearances. After only getting three hits (including two home runs) and striking out ten times in his first ten games, he spent the remaining 17 games of the season adding 12 more hits and walking as much as he struck out, 13 apiece.
While the Sox also have veteran first baseman Eric Hosmer for the major-league minimum and the disappointing Bobby Dalbec, they’re counting on Casas. He has Gold Glove defensive potential and the makings of a Silver Slugger bat. With a bright career ahead of him, any injury should be cause for concern.
