Many of the Boston Red Sox's notable bats struggled to find their groove early in the season. Most of them — Jarren Duran, Trevor Story, Alex Bregman — have shaken off the rust, but Triston Casas is still deep in his slump.
The Red Sox and their fans expected a lot from Casas after his injury-shortened 2024 season. His name studded trade rumors all offseason and he still has a lot to prove after his 2023 campaign, which earned him American League Rookie of the Year consideration. Yet, he was batting just .172/.243/.266 through 18 games.
A few days later, Casas' slash line looks pretty similar, but he's shown some flashes of success that could foreshadow the conclusion of his offensive troubles. On April 19, the first baseman lifted a towering walk-off single to open Boston's second series against the White Sox on a high note. On April 22, Casas rocked a three-run homer to dead center field to give the Red Sox plenty of insurance in an easy win over the Mariners.
Casas has always had his routine and personal method for success at the plate, but something Alex Cora said in the postgame presser after his three-run bomb suggests the Red Sox may have stepped in to help him right the ship.
"Hopefully, this is the beginning of something good. We just gotta stay patient and try to help him out through the process, too," Cora said. "Sometimes, us as coaches, we let the players do their thing, and 'he'll figure it out' . . . we gotta push. We need him."
Casas has fanned at an unusually high clip early in 2025, and he hasn't taken as many walks as the Red Sox are used to seeing from him. A keen eye for the strike zone has been one of Casas' best selling points. He posted a 93rd-percentile walk rate in 2023 and took 30 free passes in 60 games in 2024, but he's walked just seven times relative to 21 strikeouts in 22 games so far this season.
Red Sox's Triston Casas showing signs of breaking out of early slump
He's struggled the most against starting pitchers. Casas is batting .043/.120/.043 against starters and a much better .333/.405/.606 against relievers. He's yet to record a hit in his first at-bat of a game.
Casas still has a lot to work on at the plate, but Cora has attested he's getting the help he needs. Sox fans have begun seeing the results in a few recent games, and Casas is a well-documented slow-starter — this could be the start of his upswing. Despite his troubles, he's still confident.
“The confidence is high. I feel like I’ve been getting my swings off. I really didn’t change much on that (home run) swing," Casas said to Sean McAdam of MassLive. "It felt good to hit it on the middle of the barrel for once. But I’ve been swinging hard, swinging at strikes.”
Hopefully, Casas' confidence can translate to the plate soon. The Red Sox's lineup could be much deadlier with Casas on a tear, or at least drawing walks.