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BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - JUNE 12: Triston Casas #36 of the Boston Red Sox looks on during the fourth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Fenway Park on June 12, 2023 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
The Boston Red Sox wrapped up their series in Seattle on Sunday with a 3-1 loss to the Mariners, unable to complete the sweep despite another strong outing from the pitching staff. The defeat dropped Boston to 31-45, a record that sits uncomfortably close to the worst in the MLB.
The offense has been the story all year. Five hits against Gilbert and a bullpen that shut Boston down after the third inning underlined a pattern that has followed this team since Opening Day. Boston has yet to put together a winning streak longer than three games all season. The formula stays the same. Pitching keeps them close. The bats let them down.
But while the on-field struggles continue to define Boston’s first half, a quieter development off the field offered the first real sign of progress on one of the roster’s longest-running absences.
Triston Casas has started working through the initial phase of his hitting progression, per Tim Healey of the Boston Globe. That work currently includes tee sessions and soft toss as the first baseman builds back toward game action.
It is the first meaningful update on Casas since an abdominal strain shut him down in early April. He has yet to appear in a game this season.
The milestone is a small one. Tee work and soft toss sit at the very beginning of a hitter’s return timeline. Facing live pitching, progressing through simulated at-bats, and completing a minor league rehab assignment would all need to happen before any conversation about a big league return begins.
Still, for a player who has barely seen the field in two years, forward movement carries weight. Any forward movement.
Triston Casas is in the early stages of a hitting progression, which includes tee work and soft toss, according to @timbhealey.
Casas is working his way back from an abdominal strain he suffered over 2½ months ago while building up after surgery to repair a torn patellar tendon.
The 2023 season showed what Casas could be. He played 132 games, hit .263, and finished with a 2.2 WAR that signaled the Red Sox had found their first baseman for the foreseeable future.
Nothing since has gone according to plan.
Torn rib cartilage cost him most of 2024, limiting him to just 63 appearances. A torn patellar tendon cut short his 2025 season in early May and required surgery that consumed most of the following year. Then, just as he neared a return this spring, the abdominal strain in April reset the clock again.
Three injuries. Three seasons. The talent was there in glimpses, the availability has not been.
GettyBoston Red Sox 1B Triston Casas has hit a milestone in his rehab.
The roster Casas left is not the one waiting for him.
Willson Contreras has settled into the first base role and provided consistent production, eliminating the platoon approach that defined the position in 2024 and 2025. The position is no longer a problem. That changes the conversation.
Boston no longer needs Casas to fill a void the way it did in previous years. Whenever he returns, his path back into the lineup will require navigating a different set of circumstances than anyone anticipated when he first arrived in 2022.
The calendar makes it more complicated. With the Red Sox 13 games under .500 and trending toward becoming sellers at the deadline, the roster around Casas could look meaningfully different by the time he is healthy enough to contribute at the major league level. The team he comes back to may not resemble the one he left.
GettyTriston Casas of the Boston Red Sox.
Tee work and soft toss is a long way from Fenway Park. Everyone involved understands that.
But after two seasons defined by one setback rolling into the next, any forward progress represents something real. Casas has not played a big league game since last May. The road ahead still includes live pitching, rehab games, and the physical trust that only comes from sustained work.
For now, Casas is moving forward again. That is where it starts.
Keith Watkins Keith Watkins is a sports journalist covering the NBA for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Golden State Warriors, Boston Celtics, and Los Angeles Lakers. He previously wrote for FanSided, NBA Analysis Network, and Last Word On Sports. Keith is based in Bangkok, Thailand. More about Keith Watkins
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