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Red Sox Place Chris Martin On 15-Day IL

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The Red Sox placed Chris Martin on the 15-day injured list yesterday (retroactive to July 4) and called up left-hander Cam Booser from Triple-A to fill Martin’s spot in the bullpen.  Martin is suffering from right elbow inflammation, and manager Alex Cora told the Boston Globe’s Julian McWilliams and other reporters that there isn’t yet any plan for Martin to undergo any testing.  The hope is that the 15-day rest (which encompasses the All-Star break) is all it takes for Martin to feel better and return to the mound.

This is the second time Martin has been on the IL this week, as he also missed two weeks in June dealing with anxiety.  Over 26 1/3 innings this season, the right-hander has a strong 27.9% strikeout rate and an elite 1.9% walk rate, while posting an 3.42 ERA that has been inflated by some troubles with home runs.  Martin’s SIERA is 2.44, by comparison, and his .313 BABIP reflects a bit of bad batted-ball luck.  Despite the time spent on the injured list, Martin still leads the Red Sox with 10 holds and is the club’s top set-up option for closer Kenley Jansen.

  • Gleyber Torres continues to be bothered by a nagging groin injury, as the issue forced the Yankees second baseman to make an early exit from yesterday’s 5-3 loss to the Red Sox.  Torres isn’t in today’s lineup, as it appears New York is giving him at least one day of rest — considering how Monday is an off-day for the Yankees, it seems conceivable that Torres also might not play Sunday in order to receive a more extended break.  The groin problem is the latest wrinkle in what has been a rough season for Torres, who is hitting only .223/.297/.344 with eight home runs in 355 plate appearances.

Red Sox Release Roberto Perez From Minors Deal

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The Red Sox have released catcher Roberto Perez, as noted by Chris Hatfield of SoxProspects.com. Perez signed a minor league deal with the club back in December but has spent the entire regular season on the injured list in the minors.

A veteran of ten big league seasons, Perez is a two-time Gold Glove award winner who has routinely been considered one of the best defensive catchers in the sport throughout his career. Unfortunately, the 35-year-old has struggled badly with injury woes in recent years after being a regular presence in the Cleveland lineup during the 2019 and 2020 seasons. The veteran was limited to just 44 games in 2021 by a fractured finger and a shoulder strain, a reality that allowed Austin Hedges to jump the veteran on Cleveland’s depth chart.

Perez became a free agent for the first time after the 2021 season, but his injury woes have only gotten worse since then. He found a big league deal with the Pirates headed into 2022 but ultimately appeared in just 21 games before hamstring problems ended his season in early May. The following winter Perez latched on with the Giants on a non-roster pact and earned a spot on the club’s staff with a strong Spring Training. Unfortunately, the veteran made it just five games into the regular season before undergoing season-ending surgery to repair the rotator cuff in his right shoulder. Between those injuries and now the undisclosed issue that has plagued Perez this year, the 35-year-old has stepped up to the plate in official games just 86 times since the end of the 2021 season.

For a veteran catcher in his mid-thirties, the lengthy string of injuries is a concerning one, although it’s worth noting that his limited regular season and spring training appearances have generally shown him to still be a solid defensive catcher when healthy. On the other hand, he’s been nothing short of atrocious at the plate following a roughly league average 2019 season, slashing just .169/.268/.288 with a wRC+ of 58 in 357 plate appearances at the big league level since then.

Even so, it would hardly be a shock for a catching-needy club to take a look at Perez on a minor league deal if he can get healthy enough to contribute in the second half, given the importance of catching depth and the veteran’s sterling defensive reputation. As for Boston, the club remains deep in catching depth behind their primary tandem of Connor Wong and Reese McGuire even after parting ways with Perez; Tyler Heineman is on the 40-man roster as an optionable depth piece, while Mark Kolozsvary provides additional, non-roster depth with big league experience at the Triple-A level.

Red Sox Notes: Casas, Hendriks, Mata

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In an odd moment of miscommunication earlier this month, Red Sox first baseman Triston Casas told reporters earlier this month that he had begun to take dry swings while rehabbing torn cartilage in his midsection. That was exciting news regarding the 24-year-old’s progress, but MassLive’s Sean McAdam noted earlier this week that Casas’s previous comments do not appear to have been entirely accurate.

“Oh, no, just in my mind,” Casas said (as relayed by McAdam) when asked to elaborate on his previous comments about taking swings. “Without a bat, just in my head. I’ve taken thousands of at-bats like that. I feel great.”

Despite Casas’s previously reported step towards swinging a bat apparently having been entirely imaginary, McAdam noted that the slugger had truly resumed swinging on Wednesday, when he swung a bat 20 times after an MRI the previous day revealed that his ribcage had healed properly. As noted by MassLive’s Christopher Smith earlier today, manager Alex Cora told reporters that Casas has subsequently ramped up to 30 swings and is feeling some “general soreness” as he kicks back into gear and prepares for his return to the majors. Cora went on to suggest that the soreness may not impact Casas’s timeline much, adding that he might resume swinging as soon as tomorrow and could continue to do some baseball activity today. Despite the soreness not being much of an issue, however, Cora suggested that it’s unlikely that the first baseman will return to action in the majors before the All Star break.

Thats not necessarily shocking, given the fact that Casas hasn’t seen game action since late April and will surely need a rehab assignment to get back up to speed. While that post-All Star break target is a far cry from the July 2nd date Casas floated for his return earlier this month, its not necessarily surprising that he would be about two weeks behind that schedule given the fact that he didn’t start swinging a bat until about two weeks after he first indicated he was resuming doing so.

Regardless of the unusual situation, Casas’s return is sure to provide a shot in the arm for a Red Sox club that has enjoyed a 10-4 record over their last 14 games. Despite that strong recent performance vaulting them firmly into the AL Wild Card mix alongside teams like the Royals and Twins, Boston’s offense has posted a relatively pedestrian wRC+ of just 102 since Casas went down with injury, and Dominic Smith has slashed a paltry .209/.308/.317 (78 wRC+) in 47 games filling in for Casas at first base. That’s a far cry from the production the young slugger offered when 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, although that came in a sample size of just 90 trips to the plate.

Casas isn’t the only potentially impactful piece who’s on the road to recovery from injury. Veteran closer Liam Hendriks, who the Red Sox signed to a two-year, $10MM guarantee over the winter, underwent Tommy John surgery back in August of last year when he was still a member of the White Sox but has long been targeting a return to the big league mound around or shortly after this year’s trade deadline, which has been set for July 30. Hendriks has been making solid progress in that pursuit, as Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reported that after throwing a 15-pitch bullpen session earlier this week he followed it up with a 20-pitch bullpen yesterday. McCaffrey added that Hendriks said that he was “feeling good” following yesterday’s and that the plan is for him to move up from two bullpen sessions to three next week before determining next steps beyond that.

Seeing as Hendriks has already resumed throwing, it seems likely that he would be on pace to return sometime in August as previously expected. While the 35-year-old was limited to just five innings of work 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 hurler has long been regarded as one of the league’s top bullpen arms. From 2019 to 2022, Hendriks pitched to a sensational 2.26 ERA (188 ERA+) and 2.13 FIP while striking out an eye-popping 38.8% of batters faced in a combined 239 innings of work. Adding a player with that sort of resume to a bullpen that’s already employs Kenley Jansen and Chris Martin in the late innings could make for a lethal three-headed monster at the back of the Red Sox bullpen down the stretch if Hendriks is able to stay on track and return healthy.

Joining Hendriks in working his way back from a largely lost 2023 season is right-hander Bryan Mata, who pitched just 27 innings last year due to a strained teres major muscle. The right-hander and former top prospect for the Red Sox has yet to make his big league debut, but is a particularly interesting case given the fact that he is out of options and will need to either be added to the club’s active roster or subjected to waivers once healthy enough to return to action. It’s long been considered unlikely that Mata would clear waivers without being claimed by another club, meaning that 30 days after Mata begins a rehab assignment, the Red Sox will need to make a decision regarding his future in the organization.

As noted by Smith earlier this afternoon, Mata began a rehab assignment for the club earlier this month and reached the Triple-A level on Thursday. The right-hander impressed in 2 2/3 innings of work as his fastball reached 97.8 mph, though he surrendered two runs on two hits and a walk during the appearance. He’ll follow that performance up with another rehab start with Worcester this coming Tuesday. That pattern figures to continue for the remainder of his rehab assignment, as Cora told reporters (including Smith) that the club plans to keep Mata on a starter’s schedule but limit him two or three innings per appearance.

While Mata hasn’t enjoyed much success amid injury-marred campaigns in 2023 and 2024, 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 when the youngster dazzled with 83 innings of work spread across four levels of the minors that saw him post a 2.49 ERA while striking out 30.3% of batters faced. If he can post anything close to those numbers in the majors, even in a bullpen role, he would surely be a valuable asset to the Red Sox as they attempt to chase their first playoff appearance since 2021.

Red Sox Claim Alex Speas From Astros

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The Red Sox have claimed right-hander Alex Speas off waivers from the Astros.  Speas was designated for assignment by Houston last week.

A second-round pick for the Rangers in the 2016 draft, Speas didn’t really start to live up that prospect status until the 2023 season, when he had a 2.86 ERA over 56 2/3 combined innings (28 1/3 frames each) at the Double-A and Triple-A levels.  It was a comeback season for Speas, who missed virtually all of 2019-20 recovering from Tommy John surgery, and he stepped away from baseball entirely in 2022.  Speas’ minor league performance earned him his MLB debut, as he had three appearances and two innings with the Rangers last July.

Texas designated Speas for assignment in late September, and the White Sox quickly snapped him up on waivers.  This started a run of frequent trips to DFA limbo and the waiver wire for Speas, who was designated by Chicago and then dealt to the A’s in early April, and designated again by Oakland at the start of May before Houston made another claim.  This latest stint with the Astros did result in one more big league game for Speas before he was again DFA’ed and now finds himself as a member of the Red Sox organization.

It is easy to see the appeal in Speas, whose fastball sits in the high 90’s and has been known to hit the 100mph threshold.  The tremendous velocity has helped Speas post a 32.73% strikeout rate across his 165 1/3 career innings in the minors, yet his whopping 18.24% walk rate provides an easy answer to why the 26-year-old has yet to gain a solid foothold in the big leagues or even in the upper minors.  Over 21 2/3 combined Triple-A innings this season, Speas has a 10.38 ERA, and bouncing between three different teams provides only a limited excuse considering that Speas has more walks (22) than innings pitched.

The Sox are the latest team to see if they can solve Speas’ control problems, or at least make them passable enough so he can be a viable Major League hurler.  Boston’s pitching development system has been overhauled under new chief baseball officer Craig Breslow with some improved results already showing at the MLB level, and Breslow himself knows a few things about harnessing and managing control issues from his own days as a pitcher.

Orlando Cepeda Passes Away

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Hall of Famer Orlando Cepeda has passed away at age 86, the Giants announced. Cepeda played nine of his 17 MLB campaigns in San Francisco and won the 1967 National League MVP award as a member of the Cardinals.

A native of Ponce, Puerto Rico, Cepeda secured a minor league contract with the Giants in 1955. He hit 22 home runs as a 17-year-old in his first minor league season, hinting at the power he’d eventually show in the big leagues. Cepeda quickly hit his way up the ladder, reaching the majors midway through April in 1958. His arrival coincided with the franchise’s move to San Francisco.

The first baseman wasted no time in cementing himself as one of the faces of the organization. He raked at a .312/.342/.512 clip with 25 homers and a National League-high 38 doubles at age 20. Cepeda was a unanimous choice as the Senior Circuit’s Rookie of the Year and finished ninth in MVP balloting. While he didn’t earn an All-Star selection in his first season, Cepeda would earn trips to the Midsummer Classic in the six seasons thereafter.

The 6’2″ slugger reached 35 doubles and topped 20 homers in his second and third years. He took his already excellent form to another level in his fourth season. Cepeda blasted a career-high 46 longballs to top the National League. He drove in a staggering 142 runs while hitting .311/.362/.609 over 152 contests. Cepeda led the majors in RBI and finished runner-up to Frank Robinson in MVP balloting.

While he didn’t quite match those numbers in 1962, Cepeda popped another 35 homers and drove in 114 runs. He finished 15th in MVP voting and helped the Giants capture the pennant. He didn’t have a great World Series as the Yankees dropped the Giants in a seven-game set, but he’d get another couple cracks at the Fall Classic later in the decade.

Those didn’t come in San Francisco. Cepeda remained a productive hitter for the next couple seasons, topping 30 homers while hitting over .300 in each of the next two years. He lost most of the ’65 campaign to injury, though, putting something of a sour end on an illustrious run with the organization. The Giants traded Cepeda to the Cardinals for left-hander Ray Sadecki in May 1966. While Sadecki was a solid starting pitcher for the next couple seasons, that blockbuster turned out squarely in the Cards’ favor.

Cepeda hit .303/.362/.469 in his first year with the Cardinals. He paced the NL with 111 RBI the following season, running a .325/.399/.524 line over 644 plate appearances. Cepeda helped the Cardinals to 101 wins and a trip to the World Series. He topped teammate Tim McCarver to win the MVP. While Cepeda only had three hits in the Series, the Cards triumphed over the Red Sox in seven games to claim the eighth title in franchise history.

The Cardinals won a second straight pennant the following season, though they fell to the Tigers in the ’68 World Series. St. Louis traded Cepeda to the Braves the following Spring Training in a one-for-one swap for Joe Torre. The star catcher and future Hall of Fame manager would win the ’71 MVP in St. Louis, so the Cardinals netted a future MVP on both ends of their respective Cepeda trades.

Cepeda was a key contributor for Atlanta over three and a half seasons in his own right. He remained a well above-average hitter, running a .281/.343/.486 line in 401 games as a Brave. Atlanta traded him to the A’s in 1972 for Denny McLain, a deal that didn’t work out for either team. Cepeda signed with the Red Sox as a full-time designated hitter in 1973 and hit .289/.350/.444 to earn a few more down-ballot MVP votes. He retired after a brief stint with the Royals the year after.

Over a career that spanned parts of 17 seasons, Cepeda hit .297/.350/.499 in more than 2100 games. He finished his playing days with 379 home runs, 2351 hits and 1365 runs batted in. He’s 74th on the all-time leaderboard in homers and tied with Garret Anderson for 87th in RBI. Cepeda spent 15 years on the Hall of Fame ballot, falling just shy of induction with 73.5% of the vote share in his final year (1994). Five years later, he was enshrined by the Veterans Committee.

While Cepeda had an accomplished run for three franchises, he’ll always be best remembered for his time with the Giants. He hit .308/.352/.535 in more than 4500 plate appearances in a San Francisco uniform. The franchise retired his #30 and unveiled a statue in his honor outside of Oracle Park back in 2008. His passing unfortunately comes only 10 days after the death of his longtime teammate and fellow Giants/MLB icon Willie Mays. MLBTR joins others throughout the sport in sending condolences to Cepeda’s family, loved ones, former teammates and the countless fans whose lives he touched over his excellent career.

Red Sox Recall Bailey Horn For MLB Debut

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The Red Sox announced Friday that they’ve recalled left-hander Bailey Horn from Triple-A Worcester for his big league debut. They had an open spot on the active roster after optioning Isaiah Campbell yesterday, and Horn is already on the team’s 40-man roster. Andrew Parker of Beyond the Monster first reported yesterday that Horn would be called up for his MLB debut.

Boston picked up Horn in an April deal with the ChiSox, sending cash back the other way after he’d been designated for assignment. Originally a fifth-round pick by the South Siders in the shortened 2020 draft, Horn bounced between the two Chicago clubs in a pair of trades, first going to the Cubs in exchange for Ryan Tepera in 2021 and then going back to the White Sox this past February in exchange for minor league righty Matt Thompson. The White Sox designated Horn for assignment about two months after reacquiring him.

Horn was hit hard and battled alarming command issues in his brief return to his original organization. In 10 1/3 innings with their Triple-A affiliate in Charlotte, he was rocked for 13 runs on 14 hits and 10 walks with 15 punchouts. Since landing in Worcester, he’s turned things around, however. He’s still walking too many hitters (13.8%), but Horn has fanned 29.2% of his opponents through 16 innings en route to a tidy 1.69 earned run average.

Overall, the Auburn product has a 4.37 ERA in exactly 200 minor league innings. He’s missed bats at every level, punching out 30% of his career opponents, but Horn’s command troubles date back to High-A. He’s issued a walk to 13% of his opponents in pro ball. Horn operates with a low- to mid-90s heater that he pairs with a curveball and a slider. He made 14 starts with the White Sox’ Class-A affiliates back in ’21 but has pitched exclusively in relief since (with the exception of a lone two-inning “start” this year in a bullpen game for Worcester).

Latest On Kenley Jansen

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The Red Sox have outperformed most expectations and carry a 43-37 record. They’re percentage points ahead of the Royals for the final Wild Card spot in the American League. Boston doesn’t look like a prototypical seller, yet that hasn’t completely silenced trade speculation regarding their closer.

Kenley Jansen has found his name in trade rumors going back to the offseason. It seemed like Boston wanted to offload his $16MM salary over the winter. Nothing came together before the season got underway. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale wrote as recently as late May that the Sox were likely to trade Jansen at the deadline. The Athletic’s Jim Bowden wrote this morning that some rival executives believe the Red Sox could still look to move the four-time All-Star in a deal that nets Boston help in another area of the MLB roster.

Alex Speier of the Boston Globe spoke with Jansen about the trade chatter last night. The right-hander indicated he’s happy in Boston, though he noted that whether he’s traded is beyond his control. “Listen, I can’t control my destiny. What I can tell you is, I signed here to win championships. Yes, we are a few pieces away. But I think it’s a great ball club and I’m going to continue to be a leader,” Jansen told Speier. “If I’m not here, I hope the best for them. But I will focus every single day on coming out here and helping my young guys to be better because I want to see this organization win another championship.”

Jansen has held up his end of the bargain since signing a two-year deal over the 2022-23 offseason. The 15-year veteran turned in a 3.63 ERA across 44 2/3 innings during his first season. He has been excellent this year, working to a 2.30 earned run average through 27 1/3 frames. Jansen has locked down 15 of 16 save chances while striking out 29.1% of batters faced. He hasn’t allowed a home run all season.

While he doesn’t have the velocity or pristine command he brandished during his peak days with the Dodgers, the 36-year-old remains an effective closer. Jansen pointed to those results when Speier asked him whether he’d be willing to vacate the ninth inning if he were traded to another team with an established closer.

“My question is, what did I do that I can’t close? You know what I do the best,” he replied. “I close ballgames, man. That’s what I’ve got to tell you. I’m getting close to another milestone. I’m closing down, trying to get to 500 saves. That’s still very important to me. … At the end of the day, if the situation comes, we’ll figure it out. But I think I’ve been doing this for so long. And also, my body has been more battle-tested season-wise and playoff-wise as a closer. I don’t know how to deal with the mix-and-match situation. Like, no.”

Jansen is fifth on the all-time leaderboard with 435 saves. He’ll pass Francisco Rodríguez (437) for fourth place within the next few weeks. (Craig Kimbrel is narrowly behind him with 433 saves.) If Jansen holds down a ninth inning job for another season or two, he could finish behind only Mariano Rivera and Trevor Hoffman when all is said and done.

For the time being, he’ll continue trying to add to that tally at Fenway Park. WEEI’s Rob Bradford tweeted last night that opposing teams find the Sox’s asking price in trade talks to be “currently unrealistic.” With more than a month until the deadline and the team still squarely in contention, that’s not all that surprising. Even if first-year chief baseball officer Craig Breslow and his staff aren’t interested in retaining Jansen beyond this season, there’s a straightforward argument for playing out the year and letting him walk in free agency.

Boston’s bullpen has been a strength. They entered play Wednesday ranked ninth in the majors with a 3.45 ERA from their relief corps. Sox relievers are seventh in innings pitched and 11th with a 23.6% strikeout rate. Rule 5 pick Justin Slaten has been a great find, while the Sox have gotten solid work from their unheralded left-handed duo of Cam Booser and Brennan Bernardino. Top setup man Chris Martin has a 3.70 ERA with 27 strikeouts and only two walks in 24 1/3 innings around a brief injured list stint for anxiety. Greg Weissert, acquired from the Yankees in the Alex Verdugo trade, has contributed a 2.65 mark with impressive strikeout and walk numbers over 34 frames of his own.

Red Sox Notes: Duran, Abreu, Dalbec

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The Red Sox haven’t yet discussed a contract extension with Jarren Duran, the outfielder told MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo earlier this week, though Duran doesn’t seem bothered by the lack of talks.  “I’m just here to play baseball.  If they come talk to me, then they come talk to me, but I’m just enjoying playing baseball with this team,” Duran said.  The Sox aren’t exactly on a ticking clock, as Duran doesn’t reach arbitration eligibility until this coming winter, though he will likely qualify for Super Two status and thus earn a fourth arbitration year.

Considering how Duran struggled in his first two big league seasons, it isn’t surprising that the Red Sox wanted a little more data beyond just 2023 to make sure that Duran’s breakout was for real.  Signing Duran to an extension will be a lot more expensive now than it would’ve been last winter, yet it still might allow the Red Sox to gain some certainty over Duran’s escalating arb salaries, and add another year of control or two over a player they might now view as a longer-term building block.  That said, Duran’s age could also be a factor, as he turns 28 in September, and so Boston already has him arb-controlled through his age-31 season.

  • Ending the notes post with another Red Sox item, Boston reinstated Wilyer Abreu from the 10-day injured list today, and optioned Bobby Dalbec to Triple-A in the corresponding move.  Abreu has missed just shy of three weeks with a sprained ankle, interrupting the outfielder’s quietly outstanding play since making his MLB debut last season.  Abreu had a .862 OPS over 85 PA in 2023, and with his rookie status still intact, has now gained some Rookie of the Year buzz with his .272/.344/.485 slash line over 189 PA this season.

Luis Perales To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

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Red Sox right-hander Luis Perales will undergo Tommy John surgery next week, Chris Cotillo of MassLive reports on X. The young righty will therefore miss the remainder of this season and likely much of 2025 as well.

It’s an unfortunate blow for Perales, who impressed the Red Sox enough to get a 40-man roster spot in November. Though he had not yet reached the Double-A level, the Sox were concerned enough about losing him in the Rule 5 draft to select him in November.

Now 21, he was signed as an international amateur out of Venezuela in 2019. The pandemic canceled the minor leagues in 2020 and then injuries limited Perales to just two innings in 2021. He was able to make a bit of progress in 2022, tossing 35 2/3 innings between the Complex League and Single-A, with a combined earned run average of 1.77 that year.

He really took a step forward last year, splitting his time between Single-A and High-A. He tossed 89 2/3 innings over 21 starts with a 3.91 ERA and 29.3% strikeout rate. His 12.7% walk rate was on the high side but perhaps understandable for a developing pitcher who had missed a lot of time.

Things had been moving along nicely here in 2024, as he made seven good High-A starts and got bumped to Double-A for two outings there. He had struck out 38.9% of batters faced on the year while dropping his walk rate to 8.3%, leading to a 2.94 ERA, though those will now go down as his final numbers for the year with the news of his surgery.

It’s always frustrating when a pitcher requires Tommy John surgery, with its recovery timeline of 14 to 18 months. But it’s especially tough in this instance as Perales has already missed so much time but was seemingly on a good track of late. He’ll now be unable to continue his development this year and won’t be able to do much in 2025 either.

Since he was added to the 40-man roster, he is in the first of his three option years and he will have one option year left by the end of 2025. However, teams are often granted a fourth option when a player missed significant time due to injury. The Sox could recall him and add him to the 60-day injured list if they want to use his roster spot on someone else, but doing so would mean giving Perales major league pay and service time.

Triston Casas Hoping To Return In Early July

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The Red Sox got some good news regarding the status of first baseman Triston Casas yesterday. As he told Julian McWilliams of the Boston Globe, Casas has begun taking dry swings as he works his way back from torn cartilage in his midsection. Casas indicated that if he continues feeling good after a few days of dry swings, he’ll begin making contact with a ball. McWilliams added that Casas hopes to be back in the Red Sox lineup in time for a series against the Marlins that begins on July 2.

If Casas is truly just two weeks away from a return to the majors, that would be a huge relief for a Red Sox lineup that has sorely missed his presence. While the club’s overall production since he last played on April 20 is still strong, with a 107 wRC+ that ranks eighth in the majors over that time, their wRC+ at first base has sat at just 98, below average overall and well below the production of an average first baseman. Of course, Casas is a great deal better than the average first baseman; the 24-year-old’s 160 wRC+ since the All Star break last year is the 11th-best figure in the majors over that timeframe and second only to Freddie Freeman among first basemen.

As noted by McWilliams, it’s far from guaranteed that Casas will be able to reach his target date for a return, even as he’s begun swinging a bat and running the bases. McWilliams relays that manager Alex Cora was more cautious in his comments regarding Casas’s timeline, noting that while “hopefully” Casas is back during the Miami series, the club also intends to be “smart” regarding his rehab and not rush him back before he’s ready. In the meantime, the Red Sox figure to rely on a combination of Dominic Smith and Bobby Dalbec at first base.

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