Triston Casas didn’t see anything of promotional value from his 2024 season.
The Boston Red Sox first baseman only played in 63 games last year. The team’s first-round draft pick (26th overall) in the 2018 Major League Draft, Casas suffered torn cartilage in his left rib cage after fouling off a pitch in a game on April 20.
The left-handed slugger returned in mid-August and would finish the season slashing .241/.337/.799, with 13 home runs and 32 RBIs in 212 at-bats. Not really what Casas would consider a rousing success.
So imagine his surprise when Casas was made the cover boy for an upcoming Netflix documentary that chronicles the personal professional lives of the Red Sox players during the 2024 season. Titled “The Clubhouse: A Year with the Red Sox,” it is scheduled to premiere on April 8, and the initial promotional poster, trailer cover and materials sent out focused significantly on Casas.
“I missed four months of the season, so I guess I wasn’t expecting that,” Casas said. “Figured they’d put somebody who played the majority of the team’s games. But I guess it’s an honor to be the cover of that trailer.”
Alex Cora Says Triston Casas ‘Not Going to Platoon’ at First Base
GettyBoston Red Sox first baseman Triston Casas will not be in a platoon situation entering the 2025 season.
But Casas would rather adorn the cover of the Red Sox scorecard. According to MLB analyst Jim Bowden of The Atlantic, Casas could take a big step toward becoming that type of player if he’s able to play a full season. Bowden cited the 25-year-old’s numbers over his first 222 big league games – .250/.357/.473 with 42 home runs and 109 RBIS – and decided Casas deserved a spot on his 2025 All-MLB Breakout Team.
“He works the count, draws walks and barrels the ball with plus bat speed,” Bowden wrote. “He’s a below-average defender at first base, but if he finally gets 500 plate appearances, I expect 25 to 30 home runs this year.”
It appears Casas will get a good shot at getting the plate appearances. On Tuesday, Red Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters that Casas will be the team’s everyday first baseman.
“He will play. He’s going to play against lefties and righties,” Cora said. “We’re not going to platoon at first base.”
“It means a lot,” said Casas. “I’ve been waiting my entire life for this opportunity. Throughout the Minor Leagues, even my first couple years in the Majors, I’ve been learning from a lot of the veterans how to go about playing every day, and I think it’s culminating into a perfect storm for me to be able to handle that opportunity. And I’m excited for the challenge.”
Triston Casas Developing Into All-Around Hitter
So far in his career, Casas has slashed .227/.350/.422/.772 in 183 plate appearances against left-handed pitchers compared to .256/.359/.487/.846 in 657 plate appearances against righties. But in what the team hopes is a sign of things to come, Casas blasted an opposite-field home run and a hard single off of Atlanta lefty Chris Sale on Saturday, and Cora said he’s confident that Casas is developing into an all-around productive bat.
“He’s been working hard with [hitting coach] Pete [Fatse] to solve that,” said Cora. “If you look at the numbers throughout his career, he’s not great [against lefties], but we do believe he can do it and this is the time just to let him be and see where it takes us.”
Casas said he believes his success against left-handers will only increase as he faces more of them.
“I think everything’s trending in the right direction, and I feel like my comfort level against lefties increases every single at-bat,” Casas said. “It’s only going to keep getting better as the time passes, including my work in the cage — just emphasizing different types of angles and making little adjustments to my swing. All those things combined are going to help increase the overall numbers against left-handed pitching while still keeping the main goal, which is to hit all types of pitchers.”
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