Even the most ardent supporters of Triston Casas have come to terms with his completely unreliable durability in recent years. The Boston Red Sox first baseman, who will turn 27 in January, has appeared in just 92 MLB games over the past three seasons.
Unfortunately, Red Sox fans -- even those rooting for Casas -- are in the "fool me once, fool me twice, but not a third time" phase of the relationship. No one with a rational mind can expect a player to stay healthy who almost never has.
At this point, words like "hope" and "faith "must be used to describe Casas' future as an MLB player. From that vantage point, we haven't completely given up on him. Nor has the Red Sox organization, at least from the outside looking in.
Red Sox CBO Craig Breslow says that Triston Casas might play Winter Ball
A year or two ago, the idea of Casas playing winter ball for Tigres del Licey of the LIDOM would've made Red Sox fans perk up. After all, Casas was a top prospect who's shown flashes of genuine power in his left-handed bat. In 2023, he hit .263/.367/.490 with 24 home runs in 132 games. But that was Casas' last full season.
Casas hasn't appeared in an MLB game since he ruptured his left patellar tendon on May 2, 2025. He was rehabbing all year last season and never made it back, due to setbacks and then a completely separate problem in the form of undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his left wrist in August.
Casas' career over the past three seasons has been a never-ending cycle of injuries, rehabbing, and abbreviated stints. What can he do other than keep trudging onward? Winter Ball is the obvious next step, and it's a much better alternative to not playing at all.
But don't expect fans to get excited about Casas at this point. No one will ever deny his natural talent, but there's just been way too much missed time. His career is slipping away, and the Red Sox have been operating for a long time under the premise that he's not in the equation.
Even if Casas rakes in the Dominican Republic and impresses in spring training, what then? The Red Sox have an All-Star first baseman in Willson Contreras. Casas still has minor-league options remaining, so there's that.
The bottom line is that fans have heard the "we're optimistic" narrative about Casas for multiple years in a row at this point. They are tired of it and don't want to keep getting disappointed. Casas deserves his shot to reclaim status as an MLB contributor. The idea of that happening in Boston has never been murkier.
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