The Crimson Sox are anticipated to reinstate first baseman Triston Casas from the 60-day injured listing Friday, reports MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo. The slugger needs to be again within the lineup for Friday’s matchup with the Orioles and ace Corbin Burnes.
Casas, 24, had a gradual begin in 2023 earlier than discovering his stride with a breakout five-month finish to final season. He primarily picked up the place he left off early in 2024, popping six homers in 90 plate appearances and slashing .244/.344/.513 earlier than sustaining fractures on the left facet of his ribcage and enduring a prolonged shutdown from baseball actions. The Sox have eased Casas again into motion with an 11-game run in Triple-A Worcester, throughout which he’s turned in a hearty .300/.404/.550 slash in 47 journeys to the plate.
The return of Casas ought to present a thunderous boon to a Sox lineup that has acquired middling manufacturing from Dominic Smith in his absence. Smith hasn’t been an abject legal responsibility however has turned in a tepid .237/.317/.390 batting line that checks in 5 p.c worse than the league common by the measure of wRC+. Others like Romy Gonzalez, Garrett Cooper and Bobby Dalbec have typically stuffed in however have struggled to provide general. (Cooper is not with the group.)
Whereas Casas’ return isn’t prone to flip the tides within the division race — no less than in a roundabout way, although he may undoubtedly affect the Orioles/Yankees battle for first place — he may very a lot be a difference-maker in Boston’s pursuit of a wild-card berth. The Crimson Sox are eight video games behind the Yankees and O’s, who’re tied for the AL East lead, however they’re a extra manageable 2.5 video games again within the hunt for the third wild-card slot. Getting a legit 30-homer bat again into the center of the lineup — Casas has popped 30 homers whereas batting .260/.363/.493 in 154 video games courting again to final season — has vital ramifications for the rest of the Crimson Sox’ schedule.
Casas is on the 60-day injured listing, so Boston might want to make a corresponding 40-man roster transfer to reinstate their prized younger slugger. They don’t have an apparent candidate to exchange him on the 60-day IL except they’ve rapidly decided that James Paxton’s partial calf tear is a season-ender, so a DFA or waiver placement could possibly be within the offing.
