The difficulties Triston Casas is having starting 2025 are getting out of hand. With eight hits in 46 at-bats, the Red Sox first baseman is only hitting.174 through 12 games. He has walked five times while striking out fifteen, and the Red Sox haven’t shown the strength they were supposed to this season. Casas registers a dismal.240 on-base percentage and an ugly.283 slugging percentage for a.523 OPS, with only one home run and four RBI. He has been rested against lefties on multiple occasions, including yesterday against Martin Perez, the starter for the Chicago White Sox.
Casas was moved back to sixth place in the lineup by manager Alex Cora prior to Sunday’s match. Casas spent a large portion of the early season batting cleanup, but his output just did not support his continued use in that position. Theoretically, hitting lower should allow him to reset and get better matchups.
Manager Cora told Chris Cotillo of MassLive, “I thought today was a good day to have this configuration, but Triston put some good swings two nights ago.”
The way he’s getting there is just as much of a concern as the outcomes. Casas glances at the plate incoherently. He hasn’t always squared the ball up, rolled over off-speed stuff, and been late on fastballs. Early in counts, he has been hit by pitchers with high velocity, and after they gain ground, they have been burying him with breaking pitches. Casas is likewise unable to conceal himself behind the sabermetrics that have been employed by many to highlight his abilities. Even when he gets pitches in the zone, the quality of contact has been subpar, and his chase rate is high.
Like the rest of the squad, he has yet to record an extra-base hit off a left-hander this season and still appears uneasy in certain circumstances. With RISP as a team, Boston has only mustered a.115 average (9-for-78) in their seven losses.
The Red Sox don’t appear to be giving up on him, even in the face of offseason trade speculations and his refusal to sign an extension. However, they also need first base to start producing. Before the spotlight becomes any greater, Casas must begin to demonstrate that he can be a dependable MLB regular.
