The Red Sox will be without one of their best power hitters a little longer as he suffers a setback in his quest to return.
Manger Alex Cora met with the media on Wednesday afternoon ahead of the Boston Red Sox' 6-4 loss at the hands of the Houston Astros, providing an injury update for a handful of injured Red Sox who are on the mend. It was not a positive update for Red Sox power-hitting lefty Triston Casas, who is working his way back from a ruptured patellar tendon suffered last May while running out a ground ball.
"Triston Casas has had a setback. Sore ribs. So they kind of like shut down the hitting thing for a while." Cora told the gathered media. "I’ll give you guys more details on Friday, but it just happened a few days ago. So we have to slow it down. Nothing related to the knee. He’s doing well, but this happened swinging, so we have to shut him down swinging-wise for I don’t know how long," he continued.
The injury was later announced as an intercostal strain on the left side.
May 2, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Red Sox first baseman Triston Casas (36) is taken off the field on a stretcher during the second inning against the Minnesota Twins at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn ImagesIt's been a tumultuous start to a big league career for Casas. Upon getting called up to the big league club in 2022, reports quickly surfaced that he was rubbing some veterans the wrong way with his pregame rituals that included walking around the outfield barefoot and taking clubhouse naps.
Still, Casas looked to be one of the team's best hitters in the 2023 season, playing 132 games at first base, launching 24 home runs with an OPS of .856 that ranked second on the team behind only Wilyer Abreu.
Then, the injury bug hit and Casas missed nearly four months in the 2024 season with a left rib cage strain and cartilage injury.
While rehabbing, he once again made waves, likening swinging a bat to being stabbed in the ribs. Meanwhile, on the major league team, rumors started swirling that Casas was taking his time rehabbing when the club could have used the boost that his bat would provide. Casas eventually returned to the big league lineup for 40 games to limited results, hitting .242 with a .773 OPS, and seven home runs.
Ready to take over as the full-time first baseman for the Red Sox, it was another rocky start to the 2025 season for Casas. Before the injury, his .182 batting average ranked in the bottom 14 of hitters with a minimum of 100 plate appearances.
Now, as Casas works his way back from that torn patellar tendon, he's not only dealing yet another setback but finds himself with no spot guaranteed once he does return. Where the 25-year-old slugger fits in the 2026 Red Sox remains to be seen, but given the club's lack of power in the lineup, there is a spot for him if he can return to 2023 form, and most importantly, stay healthy.
If he does return, the Red Sox currently have Willson Contreras at first base and a glut of outfielders rotating through the designated hitter spot.
The Red Sox are now 1-5 and will take on the San Diego Padres on Friday afternoon at 2:10 p.m. ET.
JOIN THE CONVERSATION:
Remember to join our RED SOX on ROUNDTABLE community, which is FREE! You can post your own thoughts, in text or video form, and you can engage with our Roundtable staff, as well as other Red Sox fans. If prompted to download the Roundtable APP, that's free too!