Red Sox

Casas is also ready for the opportunity to prove he can be a reliable hitter against left-handed pitchers.

By Conor Roche

February 22, 2025 | 12:58 PM

3 minutes to read

Triston Casas’s name was in trade rumors for much of the offseason, but he isn’t holding any ill will toward the Red Sox.

Boston’s first baseman seemingly understood why he might have been offered up in trades for the team to get pitching help.

“I don’t fault anybody for throwing my name out there or trying to bolster this roster in any way, shape, and form,” Casas recently told NESN, via MassLive.

Casas later added that “winning is expected here by any means necessary,” saying that it’s chief baseball officer Craig Breslow’s and the front office’s job to improve the team.

Breslow insisted throughout the offseason that Casas would be a part of the 2025 Red Sox, telling reporters in December that “we’re not trading Triston” and that the organization views him as a “guy that can hit in the middle of the lineup for a really long time here in Boston.”

Despite that insistence, though, multiple reports indicated that the Red Sox were willing to move off Casas. They offered him, along with Masataka Yoshida, in a potential deal for Mariners starting pitcher Luis Castillo in December, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reported. Once the Red Sox landed Garrett Crochet and Walker Buehler, some thought Casas was safe in Boston. However, his name continued to dangle in trade rumors in January as teams believed that the Red Sox were still “open to trading Casas,” MassLive’s Chris Cotillo reported at the time.

Of course, that didn’t come to fruition this offseason. Casas reported to the team prior to their first full-squad workout and played in their spring training opener against Northeastern on Friday.

As he remains in Boston, one of Casas’s goals for the 2025 season is to improve his hitting against lefties.

“I think it’s a work in progress,” Casas told reporters on Friday. “But so are my at-bats against righties. So is my defense, so is my speed. Everything is on the right track to be successful. It’s just whether or not I’m going to put it together and swing at strikes and time the ball up like I know I can.”

Casas has largely been an unimpressive hitter against lefties in his young career. He’s hit .227 with a .772 OPS and seven homers in 154 at-bats against lefties, making an incremental improvement last season (.250 batting average, .758 OPS, three homers in 56 at-bats) as he missed the majority of the year due to a rib injury.

While those numbers aren’t bad, they aren’t ideal for a middle-of-the-lineup batter who aspires to be an everyday player on a team that mostly consists of left-handed hitters. But the Red Sox didn’t add a right-handed hitter who could split time with Casas at first base this season, signaling that he’ll get more at-bats against lefties this year than in previous seasons.

As the Red Sox are putting more eggs in the Casas basket to open the year, he’s ready to take on the challenge.

“I’m going to get the opportunity to fail, which is exactly what I’ve asked for my whole career,” Casas said. “And I think what I do with it is going to be a good indicator of the work that I’ve put in, and I think I’m going to be happy with the results that I get as a consequence.”

Boston’s commitment to making Casas an everyday first baseman might be a bit of a surprise considering how much his name was in trade rumors this offseason. But he is ready to move past that.

“Yeah, I’m glad it’s over,” Casas said. “I’ve called this home for a really long time. Now, hopefully, for a longer time to come.”