The Purple Sox introduced this morning that they’ve positioned first baseman Triston Casas on the 10-day injured record with a ruptured left patellar tendon. He suffered the damage throughout final evening’s recreation. Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow says that Casas may have surgical procedure and so they don’t count on him again this yr, per Chris Cotillo of MassLive.
To switch Casas on the lively roster, the group has chosen Abraham Toro’s contract from Triple-A Worcester. Boston had an open spot on the 40-man, so no additional corresponding transaction was obligatory. In an extra roster transfer, the Purple Sox reinstated Brennan Bernardino from the bereavement record and optioned Luis Guerrero to Triple-A.
The Casas information is terrible however unsurprising. He suffered an apparent damage final evening when he hit the primary base bag awkwardly whereas attempting to beat out a grounder. He was down on the bottom in clear ache for a very long time and finally was taken off the sector on a stretcher. It appeared probably that he would miss an prolonged time period and that’s now confirmed. He hasn’t but been moved to the 60-day IL however that can occur each time the Sox want a 40-man spot.
The Sox must work out what to do about changing Casas at first base. Breslow says that every one choices are on the desk and he didn’t rule out Rafael Devers taking on, although outfield prospect Roman Anthony or infield prospect Marcelo Mayer are unlikely to be moved to first.
Devers is presently the full-time designated hitter after getting got rid of third base by Alex Bregman. Transferring him into first base and opening the DH spot would assist the membership with some roster crunches elsewhere.
Anthony and Mayer are two of the perfect prospects in baseball, however each are presently in Triple-A and considerably blocked on the large league roster. The Sox presently have an outfield combine consisting of Jarren Duran, Wilyer Abreu, Ceddanne Rafaela and Rob Refsnyder. The infield has Bregman, Trevor Story and Kristian Campbell at third base, shortstop and second base respectively. Outfielder/designated hitter Masataka Yoshida might get into the combo as effectively, although he has been battling ongoing shoulder issues and his return timeline is unclear.
With Devers within the DH spot, it’s a little bit of a crowded image. If he have been to take over at first base, that might open issues up and permit numerous gamers to rotate by means of the DH spot. Devers has no skilled expertise at first however loads of subpar third basemen have made the transfer throughout the diamond over time. Whereas Breslow appeared to go away the door open to the concept, supervisor Alex Cora downplayed the likelihood. “From my finish, proper now, no…. he’s my DH,” Cora mentioned, per Alex Speier of The Boston Globe.
For now, it looks as if utility infielder Romy González would be the first try. Cora tells Speier that this is a chance for González “to exit and carry out.” He’s the one Boston participant other than Casas to have performed first base this yr. He’s having a good season up to now, with a .279/.340/.419 batting line and 113 wRC+. Nevertheless, that comes with no house runs and a .364 batting common on balls in play. In his 502 profession plate appearances, he has a .246/.277/.390 line and 81 wRC+.
That profession manufacturing can be lower than preferrred manufacturing from first base, which is usually a bat-first place, however the Sox will give it a strive for now. Maybe they may discover some exterior choices within the coming weeks, trying to make a commerce or seize one other participant off waivers. Peter Abraham of The Boston Globe says that Breslow is certainly trying on the commerce market.
González had beforehand been in a multi-positional function, having additionally performed some second and third base this yr. In his profession, he has performed shortstop and the outfield as effectively. With him set to turn out to be the membership’s common first baseman for now, Toro has been added so as to add some defensive versatility to the bench.
Toro, 28, signed a minor league cope with the Sox within the offseason. He has been performing effectively in Triple-A up to now this yr, with a .310/.403/.480 line, although a .392 BABIP is doing him some favors. In his massive league profession, he has performed the three non-shortstop infield positions and the outfield corners. He has all the time hit effectively in Triple-A however has a .220/.285/.353 line and 82 wRC+ in 1,298 massive league plate appearances.
Photograph courtesy of Eric Canha, Imagn Pictures
