The Boston Red Sox are patiently waiting the return of first baseman Triston Casas from torn cartilage in his ribcage.
Well, they’ll have to keep on waiting.
Casas has made small strides in his recovery over the last few weeks, but the closest he has come to taking the field is with a mic in hand. That seems to remain the case going forward, too.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora issued a discouraging update Friday night before opening up a three-game set against the Dodgers in Los Angeles. Cora said Casas is still “far” away from going on a rehab assignment, per MassLive’s Chris Cotillo.
Casas has progressed from taking “dry” swings to doing soft toss at full speed, per The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier, but obviously his return isn’t close. Speier noted the Red Sox do expect Casas to return this season.
When that will be is very unclear. There’s been no public timeline established for Casas, who has been out since April 20.
The Red Sox were expecting a big second season out of Casas after he tore it up over the latter half of the 2023 campaign to finish third in American League Rookie of the Year voting. Casas has only provided a .244 batting average with six home runs and 10 RBIs in 22 games this season.
Dominic Smith, who the Red Sox signed at the start of May after being released by the Tampa Bay Rays, has filled in admirably in Casas’ place and makes his 52nd start of the season at the corner infield spot Friday.
While Smith has done his part, Casas will serve as an upgrade for the Red Sox at the position whenever he can get back on the field and aid in their playoff push.
