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It seemed like every year something always came up and disrupted Triston Casas’ season.
In 2020 it was the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021 it was the Tokyo Olympics. Last year Casas got hurt, missing nearly two months with a badly sprained ankle.
This year, heading into his first full season in the big leagues, Casas set a specific goal. Not to win Rookie of the Year or hit a certain number of home runs, but to play 150 games. He would post every day, remain available and be someone the club could count on from start to finish.
He didn’t quite reach 150 — after being shut down with shoulder inflammation he’ll wrap up the season having played 132 games — but overall Casas feels he accomplished what he set out to do.
“That was the whole mindset behind the 150 games, not having any interruptions and up until the shoulder I really didn’t,” Casas said. “Overall I learned a lot throughout this year, first big league season was everything I thought it would be. A lot of ups, a lot of downs, it didn’t end how we wanted to as a team and an organization, but me personally I think I made a lot of strides as a ballplayer and as a person.”
By all accounts Casas’ rookie season was a resounding success. After getting off to a miserable start, the 23-year-old turned things around and by the second half emerged as one of the most impactful hitters in the sport.
The first baseman finishes the season with a .264 batting average, 24 home runs, 65 RBI, an .856 OPS and 2.3 wins above replacement, and from the All-Star Break onwards he batted .317 with 15 home runs and an eye-popping 1.034 OPS over his final 54 games.
Things could have played out much differently considering Casas was batting only .176 as late as May 22, but the rookie hung tough and didn’t let the struggles overwhelm him.
“I’m happy I stayed with my process and I knew eventually it would work,” Casas said. “I got to the middle months of the season and I started missing less pitches and playing better defense and that’s what production is about. I had a good mindset throughout it all, which is what I’m most proud of myself about.”
Once things finally clicked, Casas began developing into the middle of the order threat the Red Sox always believed he could be. His best game came on July 22, when Casas homered twice against then-New York Mets ace Max Scherzer, an experience the rookie called the highlight of his season.
“That was pretty awesome getting to do that against a future Hall of Famer,” Casas said. “Just stepping into the box was pretty remarkable, he’s somebody that I’ve grown up idolizing, just the way he’s competed and gone about his career.”
Casas’ season came to an abrupt end last week after he developed inflammation in his shoulder, and with the Red Sox already out of the hunt, the club decided there was no point in pushing him. The good news is testing over the weekend revealed no tears or structural damage, so he and the club are optimistic he’ll be back to full health soon and should be able to enjoy a normal offseason.
And once the shoulder issue is behind him, Casas said he has big plans for next year. Now that he’s gotten to spend an entire season immersed in a big league clubhouse, he has a much better understanding of what it takes to succeed at this level, and he’s excited to put those lessons to good use.
“That’s the beauty of baseball, you can never perfect it but you can always break a new parameter, you can always get stronger or faster, develop a better first step and develop better pitch recognition and really hone in on the small details and keys that make a great player a great player,” Casas said. “I really observed my teammates, my peers, as to what I think a respectable at bat looks like, what a respectable player in the league looks like, so I’m going to go into this offseason having learned a lot and thinking about what I want to accomplish.”
Minor league awards
On Monday, the Red Sox announced their 2023 Minor League Awards, recognizing several of the farm system’s top performers for their efforts and improvement over the course of the season.
- Offensive Player of the Year: OF Roman Anthony
- Defensive Player of the Year: INF David Hamilton
- Starting Pitcher of the Year: RHP Wikelman Gonzalez
- Relief Pitcher of the Year: RHP Luis Guerrero
- Baserunner of the Year: INF/OF Ceddanne Rafaela
- Latin Program Position Player of the Year: INF Yoeilin Cespedes
- Latin Program Pitcher of the Year: RHP Gilberto Batista
In addition, left-handed pitcher Brandon Walter is being recognized as the recipient of the Lou Gorman Award, presented annually to a Red Sox minor leaguer who has demonstrated dedication and perseverance in overcoming obstacles while working their way to the MLB team.
The Minor League Awards are selected by Red Sox baseball operations officials and roving minor league instructors. This year’s recipients will be honored during a pregame ceremony at Fenway Park prior to Tuesday’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Spoiler alert
The Red Sox (76-80) are out of the playoff hunt and likely to finish below .500, but the club still has a chance to make an impact on the playoff race.
Boston’s last six games will come against the top two teams in the AL East, starting with two games against Tampa Bay at Fenway Park on Tuesday and Wednesday before the Red Sox finish the season with four games in Baltimore over the weekend.
Entering the week, Baltimore has a 2.5 game lead over Tampa Bay in the AL East hunt with six games to play, so depending on how things play out the Red Sox could either finish the Rays off or knock the Orioles on their heels, opening the door for Tampa Bay to make one last push for the division crown.
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