In a rare miscommunication earlier this month, the Red Sox first baseman Places to stay in Triston Casas he told reporters earlier this month that he has started swimming while rehabbing a torn cartilage in his area. That was exciting news about the 24-year-old's progress, but MassLive's Sean McAdam noted earlier this week that Casas' previous comments don't appear to be entirely accurate.
“Well, in my mind,” Casas said (as relayed by McAdam) when asked to elaborate on his previous thoughts on the transition. “Off the bat, just in my head. I've taken thousands of bats like that. I feel good.”
While Casas' previously reported move to swing the bat was apparently reckless, McAdam noted that the slugger had resumed swinging on Wednesday, when he swung the bat 20 times after an MRI the day before showed his rib was healthy. As noted by MassLive's Christopher Smith earlier today, the manager Alex Cora told reporters that Casas has reached 30 swings and is experiencing “normal pain” as he gets back into gear and prepares to return to the majors. Cora went on to suggest that the pain may not affect Casas' timeline too much, adding that he could resume swinging as soon as the next day and could continue to do some baseball work today. Despite the soreness not being a major issue, however, Cora suggested it's unlikely the first baseman will return to the big game before the All Star break.
That's hardly surprising, given the fact that Casas hasn't seen a game since late April and will need a dose of rehab to get back up to speed. While that target for the All-Star break is a far cry from the July 2 date Casas floated for his return earlier this month, it's not surprising that he'll be nearly two weeks behind schedule because he didn't start swinging. bat it wasn't until about two weeks after he first showed that he was starting to do so again.
Regardless of the unusual situation, the return of Casas will certainly give a shot in the arm of the Red Sox club that has enjoyed a record of 10-4 in its last 14 games. Despite that strong recent performance that puts them firmly in the AL Wild Card mix alongside teams like the Royals and Twins, Boston's offense has posted a pedestrian wRC+ average of 102 since Casas went down with an injury, too. Dominic Smith he slashed .209/.308/.317 (78 wRC+) in 47 games filling in for Casas at first. That's a far cry from the young slugger's production when he's healthy in the first month of the season, as Casas will boast a .244/.344/.513 slash line on the season when he returns to the lineup, though that's included. a sample size of just 90 trips to the plate.
Casas isn't the only part that can have an impact on the road to recovery from injury. The veteran approached Liam Hendriks, who the Red Sox signed to a two-year, $10MM contract over the winter, had Tommy John surgery back in August of last year while still a member of the White Sox but has long been aiming to return to the big leagues. mound or just after this year's trade deadline, which is set for July 30. Hendriks has been making solid progress toward that goal, as The Athletic's Jen McCaffrey reported that after throwing a 15-pitch bullpen session earlier this week he followed through. up with 20 bull yesterday. McCaffrey added that Hendriks said he “feels good” following yesterday and the plan is to go from two bull sessions to three next week before deciding on next steps beyond that.
Seeing as Hendriks has started throwing, it looks like he will be ready to return in August as expected. Although the 35-year-old was limited to just five innings last year between his aforementioned Tommy John surgery and a battle with Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma that caused him to miss the first half of the season, the veteran has long been in the spotlight. as one of the league's top bullpen arms. From 2019 to 2022, Hendriks pitched to a 2.26 ERA (188 ERA+) and 2.13 FIP while striking out 38.8% of the batters he faced in 239 career innings. Adding a player with that kind of resume to an already effective bullpen Kenley Jansen again Chris Martin in the later innings he could make a deadly three-headed monster behind the Red Sox bullpen if Hendriks can stay on track and come back healthy.
Joining Hendriks in rebounding from a losing season in 2023 is right-handed Bryan Mata, who pitched just 27 innings last year because of a severe teres cruciate ligament. The former Red Sox right-hander has yet to make a major league start, but it's an interesting story considering he's out of options and will likely need to be placed on the active roster or the roster. once quit healthy enough to get back into action. It has long been considered impossible for Mata to clear his contracts without another team's demand, which means that within 30 days of Mata's rehab start, the Red Sox will have to make a decision about his future in the organization.
As noted by Smith earlier this afternoon, Mata began a rehab for the club earlier this month and arrived at the Triple-A level on Thursday. The right-hander impressed in 2 2/3 innings as his fastball reached 97.8 mph, though he gave up two runs on two hits and a walk during his appearance. He will follow that performance with another start against Worcester next Tuesday. That pattern will continue through the remainder of his rehab career, as Cora told reporters (including Smith) that the club plans to keep Mata in the starter's program but limit him to two or three innings based on his appearance.
Although Mata didn't enjoy much success between the injury-plagued 2023 and 2024 campaigns, it's not hard to see why the Red Sox would want to keep the righty in the fold. After all, it was just two seasons ago that the youngster pitched 83 innings spread across four levels in the minors that saw him post a 2.49 ERA while striking out 30.3% of the batters he faced. If he can post anything close to those numbers in the majors, or in a bullpen role, he could certainly be a valuable asset to the Red Sox as they try to chase their first playoff appearance since 2021.
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