BOSTON -- It turns out the injury that Red Sox first baseman Triston Casas suffered while stumbling over the first-base bag in Friday night’s 6-1 victory over the Twins was every bit as bad as it looked.
The Red Sox revealed on Saturday that Casas has a left patellar tendon rupture. He will soon undergo surgery and isn’t expected to play again this season.
The patellar tendon is the ligament that connects the kneecap to the tibia. For Casas, the injury comes one season after he was limited to 63 games when he tore cartilage in his left ribcage.
“Yeah, it's tough,” said Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow. “You feel for Triston, given what he's been through the last two years here. It seems like these injuries, they pop up in kind of unconventional ways. And unfortunately, this is a serious one that’s going to keep him out for a long time.”
In the short term, right-handed-hitter Romy Gonzalez -- who was in Saturday’s lineup playing first base -- will be the primary option at the position. Switch-hitter Abraham Toro, who was selected to the roster from Triple-A Worcester prior to Saturday’s game to replace Casas on the roster, will also be part of the mix.
Breslow and Red Sox manager Alex Cora both said it’s too soon to consider more out-of-the-box options.
At this point, the club doesn’t seem inclined to move Rafael Devers off DH so soon after transitioning him there to become a first baseman. Breslow also isn’t sure if it’s in the best interest of the organization to move one of their top two prospects currently at Triple-A -- outfielder Roman Anthony (Boston’s No. 1 prospect) or shortstop Marcelo Mayer (No. 3) -- to a position they have no familiarity with. Adding someone from outside the organization is a possibility.
“I think we need to put all options on the table,” said Breslow. “We need to be open-minded about solutions here. I think through the first month of the season, despite some inconsistent play, we feel like we've got a really talented team, a group that we believe in, and we want to make sure that we're doing everything we can to stay as competitive as possible.”
While it looked like Casas might have suffered the injury because he lost his balance going over the bag, the tendon rupture apparently took place before he got to the base, which is what caused the fall.
“He said he felt it before he hit the base,” said Cora.
In Casas, the Red Sox had a left-handed slugger who was hoping to have a breakout season, picking up on the momentum he gained in the final months of 2023, when he finished in third place in the American League’s Rookie of the Year Award voting.
Though Casas got off to a tough start at the plate this season, slashing .182/.277/.303 with three homers and 11 RBIs in 112 plate appearances, the team was still confident he was going to find his groove. But those chances went away in an unfortuitous instant on Friday.
“This kid works so hard to post, to have big seasons and all that, and he did an outstanding job in the offseason to put himself in that situation,” said Cora. “It didn't start the way he wanted to, but he was going to play, and play a lot, and now we’ve just got to focus on rehab after the surgery, and hopefully get him back stronger than ever and ready to go next year.”
While it is devastating for any player to lose the majority of a season due to injury, the adjustment will be particularly hard on Casas, who probably logs the most hours at the ballpark of any player on the club.
“He enjoys it,” said Cora. “He likes showing up early. We hate that, but he loves it, and he enjoys cleaning his own shoes and just staying here till late. He loves baseball. This is what makes him feel comfortable. Right now, he's not going to have it for a while, but knowing him, knowing his family, knowing the support system that he has, he's going to be back, and he's going to be good.”