The Fenway Park froze on Friday evening, not out of admiration, but out of concern.
In the second round of a match finally won 6-1 against the Twins, Triston Casas suffered a serious stop. After reaching the first basis following an error by Joe Ryan, Casas tripled in a disturbing way by crossing the bag and immediately collapsed while holding the left knee. In a few moments, the atmosphere changed at all. The public, hitherto animated, observed in a worried silence while a stretcher appeared.
Coach Alex Cora described the “significant” injury after the match. At that time, Casas had already been transported to hospital for additional exams, and the team did not plan to have more details before Saturday.
This is the second consecutive season when the 24 -year -old suffered an injury at the start of the year. Last year, he only played 63 games. This season, he may not even have the opportunity to double this total.
The first goal position was not already a strong point of the Red Sox, and now they must find an emergency solution.
Who to replace Triston Casas with the first goal?
Let’s start with what will not happen.
Despite the craze around the best hopes of the organization, the management of the Red Sox was clear: neither Roman Anthony (Prospect number 1 from the whole MLB), nor Marcelo Mayer will be moved to the first goal. Craig Breslow confirmed this week that Anthony, a natural voltiger, would not pass inside the field, and Mayer, training stop by training, has never changed.
Rafael Devers might seem like a logical option. But there too, unlikely. Since the arrival of Alex Bregman, who has panicked the meters (.1.009 OPS, 8 hr in 33 games), Devers has gone as full time DH. Even if he has already played the third goal in his career, he has never evolved at the first base. In addition, his defense has never been his strong point. Having it changed position would be a risky bet.
Internal options… limited
Romy Gonzalez is the most immediate solution. He already shared playing time with Casas at the start of the season, especially against left -handers. Cora has already trusted him in the past, and should rely again on him for the moment.
Vaughn Grissom, who had narrowly failed to win the second-back post for the benefit of Kristian Campbell during the Spring Training, has a great season at Triple-A Worcester (.289 on average, 3 HR and .825 OPS). He even played a few games to the first goal to expand his skills. If Boston is looking for an option with a fit stick and a certain development potential, Grissom could receive a call.
Read also: Fernando Tatis Jr injury .: What happened with the Padres star?
Beyond that, the solutions are not very exciting.
Connor Wong started six games on the first goal last year, but did not play there this season. Rob Refsnyder has already evolved in this position (227 MLB rounds), but not since 2020, and his triple-A tests last year did not convince.
Carlos Narváez, mainly receiver, played 114 rounds with the first goal with the Triple-A of the Yankees last year, but this option has not yet been envisaged by the Red Sox. As for David Hamilton and Kristian Campbell, they are interior field players, but without experience with the first goal, and the club seems to prefer to let them progress in their natural positions.
The timing of Casas’ injury is cruel. Not only for him, but also for a Red Sox team that was starting to build a certain dynamic in early May. From now on, they find themselves faced with one of the most thorny challenges of baseball: replace a key drummer and a defensive pillar … without real plan B.
If the injury is as serious as it looks, Boston may have to seek external help. In the meantime, the game of musical chairs at the first goal is launched.
Credit Photo: Eric Canha-Imagn Images
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