Red Sox manager Alex Cora responds to Triston Casas’ opinions on the 2025 roster
One day after Triston Casas offered his opinions on what the Red Sox should do with Rafael Devers, Alex Bregman, and the prospects trying to make the team, Alex Cora said he didn’t take any issue with his first baseman’s comments.
“People sit here, and we don’t put limits on them,” Cora said Wednesday at Fenway South. “He said what he said, but at the end of the day, we’re in the winning business. From my end, we’re going to make decisions based on competition, roster flexibility, and versatility. We’re going to take our best 26 guys to Texas.”
Casas told reporters on Tuesday afternoon that he thinks Devers should be the team’s third baseman and that Bregman should be the starting second baseman. The outgoing first baseman also said he doesn’t think that Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer, and Kristian Campbell should be on the Opening Day roster, citing that veterans should be occupying the roster spots.
“No,” Casas said to reporters when asked about the “Big 3” being on the roster on Opening Day. “I think we’ve got some grown men up there right now that need to iron some things out. We need to show up and see what that first little taste of us altogether looks like. I think their time is going to come. And it could be earlier rather than later. But I think for right now the roster is beautiful. It’s organized great. And it’s structured really well.”
It’s not clear if any of Casas’ comments caused any issues between him and his teammates in the clubhouse. Cora maintained his stance on not having an issue with what his players have to say when talking to the media. He understands that opinionated players are part of sports and not just exclusive to the Red Sox clubhouse.
"I probably played with guys who were very thoughtful in what they wanted to say and their opinions,“ Cora said. ”I don’t know. I played with Curt (Schilling). He was very thoughtful and said his thing. People will express what they feel. Some people are going to agree. Some people aren’t going to agree. Some people are gonna like it. Others aren’t gonna like it. At the end, we like the first baseman. He’s gonna play, and he’s gonna hit."
Cora having to continue to respond to this is becoming tiring, and most fans are ready to turn the page and focus on new storylines around the team. Casas will continue to offer opinions and commentary whether people like what he has to say or not. A lot of this will begin to go away once games start beginning this Friday when the Red Sox play their annual exhibition game against Northeastern University.
