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Triston Casas

AL East Notes: Casas, Cole, Bichette

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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.

More from around the AL East…

  • Yankees ace Gerrit Cole made his third rehab start on Friday, striking out ten batters in 4 1/3 innings at the Triple-A level. While neither Cole nor manager Aaron Boone would commit to Cole’s next start for the club coming in the majors in conversation with reporters yesterday, Jon Heyman of the New York Post noted that he felt good both immediately after the outing and the next day and that his return to the big leagues will come “soon.” A quick return to the mound for Cole would be fantastic news for the Yankees, as the 2023 AL Cy Young award winner would surely bolster an already-excellent rotation that sports the league’s best ERA entering play today.
  • Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette has been out of the lineup for the past two games due to what manager John Schneider described to reporters (including MLB.com’s Keegan Matheson) as soreness in his right calf. It’s been a tough season at the plate for Bichette, who is hitting an uncharacteristically poor .237/.286/.342 in 276 trips to the plate with Toronto this year. Isiah Kiner-Falefa has handled shortstop in Bichette’s absence, and both Ernie Clement and Addison Barger have past experience at the position if further depth options are needed. Infielders Orelvis Martinez and Leo Jimenez are both on the 40-man roster and could step into the big leagues in the event that Bichette eventually requires a trip to the injured list.

Red Sox Acquire Garrett Cooper

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5:24pm: The deal is now official, as noted by Alex Speier of The Boston Globe. The Red Sox transferred Casas to the 60-day injured list to make room for Cooper on the 40-man roster.

2:39pm: The Red Sox have acquired first baseman Garrett Cooper, the Miami Herald’s Craig Mish writes (via X).  MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo reported (X link) earlier this afternoon that the Sox were “closing in on” a deal for Cooper’s services, and Cotillo and Sean McAdam report that the Cubs will receive cash considerations in return.

Chicago designated Cooper for assignment earlier this week, and today’s trade officially ends Cooper’s time in Wrigleyville after 12 games and 41 plate appearances.  Cooper signed a minor league deal with the Cubs during the offseason and made the Opening Day roster, then hit a respectable .270/.341/.432 with one home run over those 41 PA.

The Cubs intended to use Cooper as a veteran complement to Michael Busch at first base, but Busch has hit so well that the Cubs simply couldn’t take him out of the lineup, limiting Cooper’s playing time to mostly DH and pinch-hitting work.  Cooper was also DFA’ed so Chicago could add Matt Mervis to the active roster, as Mervis was on such a heater at Triple-A that the Cubs wanted to give him more of a look in their lineup, leaving Cooper as even more of an odd man out.

While Cooper’s avenues to playing time were closed off in Chicago, the Red Sox had an unwelcome vacancy created at first base when Triston Casas went on the 15-day IL.  Casas’ recovery timeline is still very fluid, as Casas stated that estimates have ranged from anywhere from 3-9 weeks.  Boston had interest in Cooper back in January when he was still a free agent, and the Sox have now finally landed their man perhaps a few months later than expected.

Over eight MLB seasons, Cooper has hit .268/.337/.435 over 1854 career plate appearances, with 57 home runs.  Translating to a 111 wRC+, Cooper tended to fly under the radar as a member of a rebuilding Marlins team for much of his career, and his playing time was further limited by injuries.  He even made the All-Star team in 2022, though Cooper’s production dipped to a modest .251/.304/.419 over 457 combined PA with Miami and San Diego in 2023.

Cooper made a pair of appearances in left field for the Cubs this season, marking his first bit of outfield work since 2021.  While not exactly a versatile player, Cooper can at least chip in as an outfielder in a pinch, extending his value to the Red Sox even after Casas eventually returns.  With Cooper now on the roster, Bobby Dalbec (acting as the interim first baseman) is probably getting sent back to Triple-A, as Dalbec has struggled badly at the the plate this season.

Red Sox Notes: Casas, Pivetta, Grissom

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The Red Sox will be without Triston Casas for a while after a rib issue sent him to the injured list. Boston hasn’t revealed a timeline beyond comments from manager Alex Cora that the young slugger is in for an extended absence.

Casas spoke with reporters yesterday, saying that there’s wide variance in the recovery timetable. “(Doctors) said anywhere from three weeks to six weeks to nine weeks,” the first baseman told the Boston beat (link via MLB.com’s Ian Browne). “They don’t know. It’s just depending on how my body is feeling. But for right now, I’m still in pain to breathe.”

While the Sox announced the injury as a rib fracture, Casas clarified that the problem is a tear in the cartilage in his midsection. That may not be particularly consequential in terms of his recovery, since “the way that the doctors kind of explained it to me is that one isn’t better than the other. [Whether the injury] was a muscle or a bone or cartilage, they’re all similarly timetabled schedules.” Despite the uncertainty about the specific timeline, Casas said he’s confident he’ll be able to play “a good amount of the season.”

Bobby Dalbec has taken over at first base. With Dalbec out to an .093/.152/.116 start as his longstanding strikeout issues continue, the Sox could look outside the organization. They’ve reportedly considered bringing back C.J. Cron, who was in camp this spring but opted out of a minor league deal after he didn’t make the Opening Day roster. Jared Walsh returned to free agency after being waived by the Rangers, while Garrett Cooper remains in limbo since being designated for assignment by the Cubs.

The Sox will need to piece things together at first base for some time. They’ve gotten better news on the injury front with a few other players, though. Vaughn Grissom is expected to wrap up a rehab assignment with Triple-A Worcester this weekend, tweets Alex Speier of the Boston Globe. Their biggest offseason trade pickup has been out all year after straining a hamstring in Spring Training. Grissom could make his Red Sox debut on Tuesday when they open a series against the Giants.

Starter Nick Pivetta isn’t much further behind, as Cora indicated the righty could make a rehab start next week. Pivetta went on the shelf after two starts with the ominous designation of a flexor strain. The team downplayed any long-term concern, however, and it seems he’s on track to return around a month after the injury.

Pivetta was brilliant over his first two appearances, tossing 11 innings of one-run ball with 13 strikeouts and one walk. He’ll be a free agent for the first time at the end of the season, making this a pivotal year for him personally. Depending on his health and the team’s competitive outlook, Pivetta could be one of the top rental starters available around the trade deadline.

Triston Casas Facing Notable Absence Due To Rib Fracture

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Red Sox skipper Álex Cora acknowledged over the weekend that there was concern about a potentially “lengthy absence” for first baseman Triston Casas following a rib injury, and it now seems those fears were warranted. Cora announced to the Red Sox beat that an MRI revealed a left rib fracture for Casas (X link via MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo), adding that the slugger is expected to be sidelined for “a while.” Cora didn’t delve into specifics but noted that Bobby Dalbec will pick up the bulk of playing time at first base in his absence.

The news is obviously rough for the Red Sox, as Casas has emerged as a consistently above-average hitter early in his career. Though he just turned 24 years old in January, he now has 687 major league plate appearances with 35 home runs and a walk rate of 14.7%. His 25.5% strikeout rate is a bit on the high side but the power and the free passes have led to a 252/.362/.482 batting line and 129 wRC+.

The Sox will now have to proceed without that production for some nebulous amount of time. “Time-table? There’s none,” Cora said, per Ian Browne of MLB.com. “This has to heal on its own. We’ve just got to be patient.”

Regardless of the eventual length of his absence, it adds to a growing pile of injuries for the Red Sox. Trevor Story is out for the year due to shoulder surgery. Vaughn Grissom hasn’t yet made his debut with the team due to a groin strain, though he is on a rehab assignment and getting closer to joining the big league club. The rotation is without Lucas Giolito, Garrett Whitlock and Nick Pivetta at the moment. The Sox have managed to go 13-10 so far and stay afloat in a tough A.L. East race, but each injury will make it harder to keep that up as the grind of the season continues.

For now, Dalbec will step in at first base, despite having hit .033/.121/.067 on the year so far. He has generally hit will in Triple-A over the years but struggled whenever brought up to the majors. He has hit .224/.291/.434 in the big leagues, 93 wRC+, while striking out in 36.5% of his plate appearances. Dating back to the start of 2021, he has hit .265/.372/.558 in the minors. His 33.8% strikeout rate down on the farm in that time has still been high but that production leads to a 129 wRC+.

The Sox will be hoping that a run of consistent playing time will help Dalbec get into a groove and have his major league numbers more closely resemble what he’s done in the minors. The Sox could also keep their eyes open for other options. The Cubs just designated first baseman Garrett Cooper for assignment and Boston is a sensible landing spot for him, though it’s one of many. If the Red Sox end up finding someone they like for the first base gig more than Dalbec, he can play other positions and is also still optionable.

Assuming Casas is going to miss at least a couple of months, he’ll be moved to the 60-day injured list whenever the club needs a roster spot. He was already placed on the 10-day IL on the weekend.

Red Sox Place Triston Casas On 10-Day Injured List

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12:42pm: Cora told reporters this afternoon, including Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe, that Casas is headed for an MRI in Boston tomorrow and that there is concern he could be in for a “lengthy” absence. The manager added that the team intends to discuss its options tomorrow. Abraham adds that Casas told reporters this afternoon that he’s in “a lot of pain” due to the injury and feels it when swinging the bat.

April 21, 9:32am: The Red Sox officially placed Casas on the 10-day injured list with a left rib strain this morning, recalling Heineman in the corresponding move. Heineman, 33 in June, has participated in parts of four MLB seasons and struggled with the bat during his limited time in the majors, slashing just .218/.297/.282 in 104 career games.

April 20: Red Sox first baseman Triston Casas exited today’s game against the Pirates in the first inning due to what the club has termed left rib discomfort. As noted by Chris Cotillo of MassLive, manager Alex Cora indicated to reporters after the game that he was “concerned” about Casas’s injury and that the first baseman had left the ballpark to undergo further testing. While it’s not entirely clear how serious Casas’s injury is, it appears the club is at least preparing for the possibility that an IL stint will be required as Cotillo also reports that journeyman catcher Tyler Heineman is set to join the club in Pittsburgh tomorrow as the only healthy position player on the club’s 40-man roster who isn’t already on the active roster.

If Casas were to miss an extended period of time, it would be brutal news for the Red Sox. The 24-year-old slugger has gotten off to an excellent start so far this season with a .244/.337/.513 slash line with six home runs in just 89 trips to the plate. The youngster’s strong numbers early in the 2024 season are a continuation of his hot second half last year, when he slashed an incredible .317/.417/.617 in 211 trips to the plate after the All Star break.

It’s the latest in a series of injury woes for Boston, as the club has already lost Trevor Story, Vaughn Grissom, Tyler O’Neill, and Romy Gonzalez to the injured list while Rafael Devers has missed each of the last three games after dealing with discomfort in his left knee earlier this week that eventually required him to be sent for an MRI. If even one of Devers or Casas, the Red Sox would be stretched incredible thin in terms of infield depth, and IL stints for both of the club’s regular corner infielders would leave the club with a patchwork infield involving none of the club’s on-paper starters on the first.

Center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela has taken over at shortstop in recent days following Story’s injury, while Enmanuel Valdez has filled in for Grissom at second base to this point in the season. Bobby Dalbec has filled in for Devers at third base in recent days and has plenty of experience at first that could allow him to replace Casas as needed, leaving the likes of Pablo Reyes and David Hamilton to act as utility infielders off the bench and/or handle the hot corner in Devers’ stead if necessary.

Cotillo also notes that outfielder Rob Refsnyder took reps at first base while rehabbing earlier this season, but the 33-year-old hasn’t appeared on the infield dirt since 2018 and any appearances on the infield would further deplete an outfield mix that has already lost Rafaela to the infield and O’Neill to the injured list. With that being said, depth options such as Dalton Guthrie and Eddy Alvarez are available at the Triple-A level to be called up if necessary, though neither is currently on the 40-man roster and would therefore require a corresponding move to be made in order for Boston to select their respective contracts.

Breslow: Red Sox Aren’t Close On Additional Extensions

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After a quiet winter, the Red Sox have made a pair of long-term commitments to key young players. Since the start of Spring Training, Boston has inked starter Brayan Bello and center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela to extensions. On the heels of finalizing an eight-year, $50MM agreement with Rafaela, Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow suggested no other such deals were imminent.

“(It’s) impossible to handicap perfectly what the chances are of getting another deal across the line. I would say, I don’t see anything as particularly close right now,” Breslow told reporters (link via Rob Bradford of WEEI). “I do think it makes sense at some point to focus on the season and give players some clarity around what they’re trying to accomplish every day and give us a chance to kind of assess more broadly what we’re trying to accomplish, what our vision is. So I wouldn’t ever say never, but I think it’s unlikely.”

That’s probably most relevant with regards to first baseman Triston Casas. The former first-round pick has previously indicated that the Sox and his camp at MVP Sports Group have kept up dialogue. Casas reiterated to Bradford on Wednesday that he’s hopeful of remaining in Boston for the long haul, although he said he’s unsure about the current status of negotiations. Casas indicated he’s taking a hands-off approach, telling his representatives that while they’re free to continue discussions during the season, he’s not interested in being updated each time the sides float contract parameters.

In any case, Breslow’s comments imply there’s a gap between the team’s comfort level and the asking price being floated by Casas’ camp. There’s not a ton of urgency. Boston controls the lefty-hitting first baseman through 2028. He won’t be eligible for arbitration for another two seasons. Even if the sides were to table discussions while the season is ongoing, there’d be plenty of time for a new set of negotiations next spring.

Breslow wasn’t specifically addressing the status of negotiations with Casas. Tanner Houck, Jarren Duran and Vaughn Grissom are among other pre-arbitration players whom the Sox could have interest in securing on a long-term deal. Whether they’ve opened discussions with anyone from that group isn’t clear.

Getting the Bello and Rafaela deals done already marks an active spring on the extension front. As shown on MLBTR’s Contract Tracker, the Sox are the only team to extend more than one pre-arbitration player since the start of last offseason. That marks something of a shift in organizational operating procedure. Before this spring, Garrett Whitlock was the only pre-arbitration player to sign an extension with the Red Sox in over a decade.

East Notes: Casas, Cabrera, Marsh

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The Red Sox recently signed right-hander Brayan Bello to a six-year, $55MM extension that extends their team control over the youngster by two years. That deal isn’t the only possible extension for a young potential cornerstone that Boston has pursued this winter, however, as first baseman Triston Casas confirmed to reporters that he and the Red Sox have discussed a possible extension as well. At the time, Casas indicated that while he would love to spend his entire career in Boston, the club had yet to present him with anything “enticing” to that point. In the wake of Bello’s extension, Casas recently discussed his own extension negotiations with the Red Sox, as relayed by Alex Speier of the Boston Globe.

In his comments, Casas reiterating that he hopes to play in Boston for “the rest of [his] career” while also providing an update on the discussions he’s had with Red Sox brass. Per Casas, the sides are still talking but there’s been “no numerical values” discussed to this point and that “nothing has really accelerated” to this point. Even as the 24-year-old makes clear he hopes to spend his entire career in Boston, it doesn’t seem as though he feels much urgency to get a deal done anytime soon.

“I think I have a lot of work to do before I feel like I can say I deserve that contract extension to be the long-term first baseman for the Boston Red Sox,” Casas said, as relayed by Speier. “…So if I don’t get that offer, I’m not upset at anybody in the organization. I’m not upset with myself.”

Although Casas claims to have not yet performed at a level that would warrant the extension he’s looking for, he certainly turned in a strong performance in his first full big league season last year. In 132 games with the Red Sox, Casas slashed an impressive .263/.367/.490 (129 wRC+) in 502 trips to the plate. That strong overall performance was bolstered by a torrid second half that saw Casas slash an incredible .317/.417/.617 in 54 games with a 175 wRC+ that was the fifth-best figure among all hitters with at least 200 plate appearances down the stretch, bested by only Shohei Ohtani, Matt Olson, Ronald Acuna Jr. and Mookie Betts. If the sides are unable to come to an agreement this spring, a 2024 campaign that even comes close to resembling his second half last year would surely improve Casas’s earning power considerably.

More from MLB’s East divisions…

  • Marlins right-hander Edward Cabrera was removed from his start against the Cardinals today before throwing a pitch, with Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald noting that Cabrera experienced a bout of tightness in his right shoulder while warming up for the game. McPherson adds that Cabrera’s removal from the game was precautionary, per Miami, and that Cabrera told reporters a few hours after being removed from the game that he was “already starting to feel better.” While both club and player are indicating that the issue isn’t a particularly severe issue, it’s worth noting that Cabrera was sidelined by a shoulder impingement in June of last year and missed a month of action. Should Cabrera manage to avoid a trip to the injured list to open the season, he figures to Jesus Luzardo and Eury Perez in the rotation. Southpaws A.J. Puk, Trevor Rogers, and Ryan Weathers figure to compete for the final two spots in the club’s rotation, though Braxton Garrett figures to join the rotation once he’s recovered from his own shoulder woes.
  • Phillies outfielder Brandon Marsh has yet to appear in a game this spring while rehabbing from arthroscopic knee surgery he underwent in early February. While the initial timeline for his return to action was three-to-four weeks following the surgery, Alex Coffey of The Philadelphia Inquirer indicates that Marsh is not quite ready to return to game action at this point. Coffey adds that club manager Rob Thomson recently indicated that Marsh is “on track” with regards to his rehab and could get into a Grapefruit League game by the end of the week. Marsh, 26, slashed a strong .277/.372/.458 in 133 games for the Phillies last year and figures to be a regular fixture in the club’s outfield mix this season alongside Nick Castellanos and Johan Rojas.

Red Sox, Triston Casas Have Discussed Possible Extension

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2023 was a difficult season for the Red Sox as the club suffered a second consecutive fifth-place finish in the AL East with an identical 78-84 record to their disappointing 2022 campaign. With that being said, rookie first baseman Triston Casas served as a bright spot in the otherwise tough season as he rode a blistering second half to a third place finish in AL Rookie of the Year voting. Prior to the 2023 season, Casas expressed interest in an extension that would keep him in Boston beyond his years of club control, which run through the 2028 season. At the time, he indicated that there had been no such discussions with Red Sox brass, though he struck a different tone in a scrum with reporters (including MLB.com’s Ian Browne) today.

“Of course we have,” Casas told reporters when asked if the sides have talked extension yet. Casas went on to add that while he hopes to stay a member of the Red Sox “forever,” “nothing enticing” had been offered offered to him at this point. Casas decline to get into specifics when asked what sort of contract he would consider, though he noted his goal is a deal that would leave himself and his family “set for the rest of [his] life.”

As a player with just over one year of service time, any extension for Casas would figure to cover his five remaining seasons of team control while also extending Boston’s window of control beyond that. One obvious comp for Casas would be first baseman and former Red Sox prospect Anthony Rizzo, who signed a six-year $40.5MM extension with the Cubs early in the 2013 season that covered the 2014-2019 campaigns. That deal included options and escalators that allowed it to max out at $73MM over eight years. With that being said, there’s several reason to expect Casas to earn significantly more on an extension than Rizzo did. That contract was signed over a decade ago, and while Rizzo was about a year younger at the time of the deal than Casas is now, he had done far less to establish himself as a big league caliber bat.

Entering the 2013 season, Rizzo had hit just .245/.324/.402 in 136 games for his career with an exactly league average wRC+ of 100. Meanwhile, Casas has slashed an impressive .263/.367/.490 (129 wRC+) in 132 games last year and sports a nearly identical 128 wRC+ for his career. While Rizzo’s pedigree as a former top-50 prospect in the sport lent credence to his ability to improve as he entered his mid-twenties, Casas having proved himself as an above-average offensive player in the majors should allow him to earn significantly more even before considering the nearly eleven years of inflation separating the two deals.

So, what sort of deal could make sense for Casas and the Red Sox? Looking at more recent comparisons, Pirates third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes was another former first-round pick entering his second full seasons in the majors when he signed an eight-year, $70MM extension with Pittsburgh two years ago. While Hayes’s ability to offer elite defense at the hot corner gives him a considerably higher floor than Casas (who is generally considered to be a fringy defender at first base), Casas offers significantly more offensive ability than Hayes, who owned a roughly league-average slash line of just .280/.340/.432 (106 wRC+) in the big leagues at the time of his extension. Casas is also a year younger than Hayes was at the time of his extension, meaning he’d hit free agency ahead of his age 29 season if not extended beyond his current club control.

Given Casas’s relative youth and significant offensive talent, an extension in a similar ballpark to Hayes’s extension with the Pirates could make sense in spite of his lack of defensive value. While the Red Sox have indicated that they expect payroll to be lower in 2024 than it was last year, an extension for Casas would figure to hardly put a dent in the club’s books for the 2024 season, as pre-arbitration extensions tend to escalate salaries over the course of the deal. A deal locking up Casas could also allow Boston to have a potential franchise cornerstone in place long-term as the club’s other young players and prospects, such as Marcelo Mayer, Ceddanne Rafaela, and Roman Anthony, begin to reach and establish themselves at the big league level over the next few years.

Gunnar Henderson Wins American League Rookie Of The Year Award

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Orioles infielder Gunnar Henderson has won Rookie of the Year for the American League, per an announcement from the Baseball Writers Association of America. Tanner Bibee of the Guardians placed second while Triston Casas of the Red Sox placed third.

Henderson got to make his major league debut last year as a September call-up, just a couple of months after his 21st birthday. Despite his young age, he held himself incredibly well. His 25.8% strikeout rate was a bit above average, but he also drew walks at a 12.1% clip. His .259/.348/.440 batting line last year resulted in a 128 wRC+, indicating he was 28% above league average in that time. That call-up gave him a chance to get a taste of the majors while maintaining rookie status, since he didn’t get to 130 at-bat or 45 days on the roster.

The O’s came into 2023 looking to firmly stamp out their rebuild and make the postseason for the first time since 2016. Henderson’s first full season helped them do just that, as he hit 28 home runs and stole 10 bases. His walk rate dipped to 9%, though that was still above league average. His .259/.348/.440 batting line translated to a wRC+ of 123. He split his time between shortstop and third base, getting strong grades at both positions. FanGraphs considered him to be worth 4.6 wins above replacement while Baseball Reference had him at 6.2. The Orioles, meanwhile, won 101 games and took the top spot in the American League East.

The award is surely gratifying for Henderson and the O’s in and of itself, but there are other implications of this news. The new collective bargaining agreement contains measures designed to combat service time manipulation through the prospect promotion incentive, or PPI. Top-two Rookie of the Year finishers who were Top 100 prospects on at least two preseason lists at Baseball America, ESPN and MLB Pipeline are automatically credited with a full service year. That won’t apply to Henderson, who was up all year and earned a full service year regardless, though he was the #1 prospect on all three of those lists.

But players with PPI status can also earn extra draft picks for their clubs if they have less than 60 days of service time to start the season and earn a full service year the traditional way, as Henderson did, while also appearing on those preseason prospect lists. Players in that camp who finish in the top two in Rookie of the Year voting or top three in Cy Young or Most Valuable Player voting during their pre-arbitration seasons earn a bonus pick after the first round for their club. That means the O’s, who are already loaded with young talent, will get a valuable extra pick in next year’s draft.

Bibee and Casas also had strong seasons, but not enough to catch Henderson. The former made 25 starts for the Guards with a 2.98 earned run average, 24.1% strikeout rate and 7.7% walk rate. He wasn’t promoted until late April but will earn a full service year by getting second place in this voting. But since he didn’t get that service year the traditional way, the Guards won’t get a bonus draft pick. Casas hit 24 home runs and walked in 13.9% of his plate appearances, leading to a .263/.367/.490 batting line and 129 wRC+. He was in the majors all year, so the voting won’t impact him from a service time perspective, but he falls just shy of getting the Red Sox a bonus pick.

Henderson was a unanimous selection, per the full vote tally from the BBWAA, getting all 30 first-place votes. Bibee got 20 of the second-place votes while Casas got six. Other players receiving votes were Josh Jung of the Rangers, Yainer Diaz of the Astros, Masataka Yoshida of the Red Sox, Edouard Julien of the Twins and Anthony Volpe of the Yankees.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Red Sox Prioritizing Starting Pitching Help

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The Red Sox are going into their first offseason with Craig Breslow as chief baseball officer and he is setting his sights on upgrading the club’s rotation, though he isn’t specifying exactly how many pitchers he plans on bringing in. “I think we need to be open-minded,” Breslow said, per Christopher Smith of MassLive. “Starting pitching is certainly a priority for us. But to kind of try and forecast exactly a number or anything kind of more specific than that probably doesn’t make sense.”

It’s not an especially surprising pursuit for the Sox, since the rotation was a weak spot for the club in 2023. Their starters as a whole put up an earned run average of 4.68 for the year, which placed them 22nd out of the 30 clubs in the league. There are some talented names on the roster but each has concerns around health or inconsistency or both, with Chris Sale, Nick Pivetta, Brayan Bello, Kutter Crawford, Tanner Houck and Garrett Whitlock the candidates for rotation jobs right now.

Sale hardly pitched from 2020 to 2022 due to various injuries. He was able to log 102 2/3 innings in 2023 but with an ERA of 4.30. Pivetta struggled enough to get bumped to the bullpen but finished in good form, whereas Bello was stronger in the first half but faded down the stretch. Crawford had a 4.04 ERA this year with good peripherals, though it’s unclear if that’s sustainable since he’s never been a highly-touted prospect. Houck has shown some potential, but injuries have continually kept him in the range of 100-120 innings. The same is largely true for Whitlock, though he hasn’t even reached 100 frames since 2018.

Though they theoretically have six options for five rotation spots, there are arguments for skepticism with each one. Breslow says that Houck and Whitlock will still be stretched out, per Alex Speier of the Boston Globe, but they could be pivoted back to the bullpen later. Both pitchers have had better results as relievers, with Houck having an ERA of 2.68 out of the ’pen and Whitlock a 2.65 in his career, whereas they have starting ERAs of 4.17 and 4.76 respectively. That doesn’t necessarily mean they can’t be effective starters in the future, but it stands to reason that the club might not be willing to bank on them.

Smith adds that the club spoke to the representatives of free agent lefty Jordan Montgomery, though it might be best not to read too much into that. For one, Montgomery is represented by Scott Boras, who also reps a great number of other players. Secondly, Breslow tells Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe that it’s fair to assume they will talk to every agent who represents a starting pitcher and every team that could trade one.

It seems all options are on the table, including players who received a qualifying offer. “It’s a consideration like the host of other variables that you need to consider when you make a decision around these players,” Breslow says in Smith’s report. “So I think we need to look at the totality of the situation in order to figure out how much of a consequence it is for one over another.” Blake Snell, Sonny Gray and Aaron Nola were the three traditional starters to receive QOs, as well as two-way player Shohei Ohtani, who won’t pitch in 2024. Signing one of those players would require the Red Sox to forfeit their second-highest pick in the upcoming draft and $500K of international bonus pool money, but it sounds like that’s not off the table.

Elsewhere, it sounds like the club is leaning towards adding a right-handed hitter who can play second base, though they won’t be strictly limiting themselves in that search. “I think positional versatility helps,” Breslow said, per Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic. “I don’t think it makes a ton of sense to kind of typecast that to a right-handed bat who can only DH. But I think we have to be open-minded about the ways to improve the team. Given that we’re pretty left-handed, it makes sense to set our sights on somebody who can hit right-handed.”

The club’s lineup does indeed skew to the left side, with regular at-bats slated for players like Rafael Devers, Jarren Duran, Triston Casas, Masataka Yoshida and Alex Verdugo, though Breslow earlier admitted that Verdugo’s name has come up in trade talks. Some righty bats include Teoscar Hernández and Jorge Soler, though the Sox might be a better fit for a second baseman than an outfielder. The market is fairly limited there but Whit Merrifield and Amed Rosario are a couple of right-handed bats that likely won’t cost much. Speaking of Casas and Duran, who both finished the season on the injured list, Breslow provided updates on the progression of both players to Abraham. Casas has progressed to weight-bearing exercises in his recovery from turf toe surgery. Casas, who was hampered by shoulder inflammation, has healed and is now close to starting a hitting program.

Catcher could theoretically be another place to add but it sounds like the Sox feel good about Connor Wong there. “Very comfortable,” Breslow said about Wong. “We feel good about the catching situation. That’s not to say that we should be closed-minded about opportunities to improve the team. But I think we’re all really happy with him.” Wong got the bulk of the playing time in 2023 and hit just .235/.288/.385 but there were some encouraging defensive grades. It doesn’t sound like an addition here is totally off the table but the pitching is clearly a bigger focus.

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