Triston Casas will miss the rest of the Boston Red Sox season after rupturing his patellar tendon in his left knee, according to MassLive’s Chris Cotillo. Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow has noted that “all options are on the table” at first base. However, manager Alex Cora has seemingly taken moving Rafael Devers to the position off that table.
“Cora definitively says Devers is the DH and that he doesn’t want him to move to 1B.” Cotillo wrote on X.
Breslow also added that he does not expect top prospects Marcelo Mayer or Roman Anthony to change positions to try and fill the void at first base. Even though Cora has noted that Devers will not play first base, it would indirectly solve an upcoming problem for the team.
Scott Kane/Getty Images
Devers, being the regular designated hitter, will force the Red Sox into a corner with Masataka Yoshida. Yoshida should return from injury soon, and his spot in the lineup now belongs to Devers. Yoshida is not a great defender, and now will be forced to find playing time in the outfield.
The Red Sox outfield features Wilyer Abreu, Jarren Duran and Ceddanne Rafaela. Rob Refsnyder has functioned as the fourth outfielder. However, with Anthony expected to debut soon and Yoshida’s looming return, the outfield will be more than crowded.
Moving Devers to first base would take Yoshida out of the first base equation. There were rumors in the offseason about trading Casas and moving Devers to first base. However, the team stuck with Casas, eventually forcing Devers to be the designated hitter.
The Red Sox also called up Abraham Toro, likely to play first base. Toro hit .323 with two homers and a .917 OPS in Triple-A.
It is unclear what the team will do to make it through the season without Casas, but the reality is that it will not be too hard to replace the production he was giving them. He was slashing .182/.277/.303 in 29 games.
“He certainly struggled through the first month or so of the season, but that didn’t change what we believed his production was capable of being,” Breslow told MassLive.
Toro seems to be the first man up as the Red Sox try to replace Casas. However, a trade could be coming soon to find a more consistent option. The team is just two games out of first place in the American League East and could be aggressive in trying to make the postseason.
More MLB: Tigers Trade Idea Gets $3 Million Phillies Outfielder For 1.00 ERA Relief Arm
