On Sunday night, the Boston Red Sox acquired first baseman/designated hitter/catcher Willson Contreras from the St. Louis Cardinals for Hunter Dobbins and multiple pitching prospects.

Contreras figures to see the bulk of his time at first base, where he played almost exclusively in 2025, which leads to a very real question the organization has to answer:

What happens to Triston Casas now?

About Casas

About to turn 26 years old, Casas was a first-round pick out of the Florida high school ranks in 2018. Armed with good power and elite plate discipline, he made his major league debut in 2022.

He hit 24 home runs and drove in 65 during the 2023 season, also hitting .263 in 132 games before getting injured at the end of the season. However, his trajectory has been halted by injuries each of the last two years. He played just 63 games in 2024 and played only 29 in 2025 after suffering a gruesome leg injury. He hit only .241 in 2024 and was off to a .182 start in 2025.

Option 1: Trade

If Contreras is set to earn most of the playing time, then there's not necessarily a great need for Casas, even as a bench player.

He's can be retained via arbitration through 2028, so another team might be interested in a young power hitter with three years of team control. However, the Red Sox would undoubtedly be selling very low on him.

Are they willing to do that? And with his arbitration price rising each year, is another team willing to pay given the uncertainty? And what about the uncertainty coming off his gruesome leg injury from last season?

Option 2: Bench

Just because there isn't a great need for him as a bench player doesn't mean it can't happen. He could spot start at first base against right-handed pitchers and he could serve as the designated hitter also.

He'd also be a fun chess piece for Alex Cora late in games as a pinch-hitter.

However, to make this work? Boston would need to clear its glut of DH/bench options, including Masataka Yoshida.

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Option 3: Slow rehab

Back in June, Casas said he had a goal of being ready for Opening Day in 2026, but there's been no clarity on how realistic that timeline is. Could the Red Sox slow play his rehab, make sure he's 100 percent ready, and then just see where the roster is at when he's ready to come back?

It's certainly possible. It gives time for additional offseason moves to be made and it accounts for the possibility of injuries in the season, which could make the roster log jam not as big a deal.

Option 4: Minor leagues

Casas has each of his three options available to the Red Sox. Could they send him to Triple-A to regain confidence, health and rebuild potential trade value?

He may not love that, considering he's got 251 games of major league experience, but stranger things have happened.

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