Boston Red Sox first baseman Triston Casas began his rehab assignment in Triple-A Worcester this week, but it sounds like he's in rough condition whenever he's in the batter's box.
Casas suffered a ribcage injury on April 20 and was placed on the 60-day injured list. The 24-year-old remained with the team and stayed active the best way he could with mental training his primary focus before he began physical activity on the baseball diamond.
The Red Sox star slugger went 1-for-3 in his first rehab start for Triple-A Worcester against the Buffalo Bisons at Polar Park on Thursday. It was a promising start, but on his scheduled day off Friday, he revealed excruciating details he's had to endure during his recovery process.
"Right now when I make contact with the ball, it feels like someone's stabbing me with a knife right in the ribs ... Right when it happened I felt like I got shot with a gun, so it's dulled down," Casas told WooSox reporter and co-host of NESN's "Respect Her Game" podcast Laura Stickells.
Unfortunately for Casas, there's nothing doctors can do about his pain, so he'll have to deal with it for as long as he needs to.
However, the third-year major leaguer did offer conflicting details when he told reporters the "pain is minimal," per MassLive's Chris Cotillo. That could be the mental work Casas is continuing and not letting the pain get to his head and conflict with his game. He acknowledged there was still "a lot of work still to be done."
