The Red Sox are expected to return the first baseman Places to stay in Triston Casas on the 60-day injured list today, reports Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com. The slugger should be back in the lineup for tonight's game against the Orioles and the ace Corbin Burns.
Casas, 24, got off to a slow start in 2023 before finding his stride with five months left until last season. He basically started where he left off in early 2024, hitting six homers in 90 plate appearances and slashing .244/.344/.513 before sustaining a fracture to the left side of his ribcage and enduring a lengthy layoff from baseball activities. The Sox released Casas to return to action with an 11-game hitting streak at Triple-A Worcester, where he converted a heart-pounding .300/.404/.550 in 47 trips to the plate.
Casas' return should provide a buzz for a Sox lineup that has experienced mediocre production Dominic Smith in his absence. Smith hasn't been a terrible liability but he has turned in a hot line of .237/.317/.390 that checks out to be 5% worse than league average, with a wRC+ rating. Others like it Romy Gonzalez, Garrett Cooper again Bobby Dalbec they have filled in at times but found it difficult to produce in general. (Cooper is no longer with the organization.)
While Casas' return is unlikely to change the state of the division race — at least not directly, although he could impact the Orioles/Yankees battle for first place — he could be the biggest difference in Boston's pursuit of a title. The Wild Card. The Red Sox are eight games behind the Yankees and O's, who are tied for the lead in the AL East, but are a manageable 2.5 games back in the hunt for the third Wild Card spot. Getting a legitimate 30-homer bat back in the middle of the lineup — Casas hit 30 homers while hitting .260/.363/.493 in 154 games dating back to last season — has a big impact on the rest of the Red Sox. ' program.
Casas is on the 60-day disabled list, so Boston will need to make the corresponding 40-man roster to get their prized slugger back. They don't have a replacement for the 60-day IL, unless they quickly decide that James PaxtonA partial calf tear is a feature of the season, so a DFA placement or waiver may be imminent.
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