Red Sox News: Triston Casas long-term injury concern, Cam Booser's road to MLB debut

In the first inning of the Boston Red Sox's April 20 game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Triston Casas took a big swing at a pitch from Mitch Keller.

The first baseman recoiled and stepped out of the batter's box. He reached for his midsection on his left side and his face flashed an expression of pain as he walked back toward the plate.

Casas finished his at-bat, which ended up being a walk, and took his base. In the following inning, Bobby Dalbec took his place at first base.

The Red Sox revealed in the middle of the game that Casas was feeling rib-area discomfort, which is never a good sign for a slugger. The team has since placed him on the 10-day injured list with a left rib strain, but the nature of Casas' injury is yet uncertain. The outlook isn't great, though, as manager Alex Cora said the first baseman was "not doing OK," after the game.

Casas went back to Boston early to have testing done to determine the severity of his injury, but the results have not yet been shared.

It sounds like the Red Sox are bracing for Casas to be out for quite some time, but we'll have the official updates when the team releases more.

Red Sox likely to be without Triston Casas for extended amount of time, Cam Booser's long-awaited MLB debut was emotional

In better news, on April 19, left-handed reliever Cam Booser debuted for the Red Sox. He let up a run and fanned a batter in his one-inning outing, but his performance wasn't the focus of the evening.

Booser is 31 years old and he became the oldest Red Sox to post their MLB debut in the United States since 1947. The lefty overcame countless injuries and obstacles to make it to the big leagues. In high school, Booser broke his femur and a vertebra. In college, he needed Tommy John surgery, which limited him to pitching just 11 innings of Division I baseball in his college tenure.

Booser was still drafted by the Twins after his shortened college career, but two years later, he was hit by a car which broke his back while he was already recovering from surgery to repair a torn labrum. In 2015, Booser was suspended 50 games for a violation of MLB's marijuana policy and two years later he decided to step away from baseball.

But after he took a side job coaching youth baseball while working as a carpenter, Booser realized he couldn't let baseball go. He was signed by the the Chicago Dogs of the American Association of Professional Baseball, where he caught the eye of the Red Sox.

After Booser finished the game on April 19, the lefty walked off the mound with tears in his eyes. He pointed to the sky and soaked in his moment with his family in attendance.

Booser called his debut the "best moment of [his] career," but his second outing with the Sox was better than his first. The lefty may be in for quite a season with this Red Sox roster, and after all he's been through to get to the majors, he's likely more than ready for what's coming.

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