Red Sox will be without first baseman Triston Casas with a left rib fracture; no timetable for his return
The Red Sox will be without first baseman Triston Casas for an extended period of time with a left rib fracture, Red Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters on Tuesday.
Casas was initially diagnosed with a left rib cage strain, but after undergoing an MRI on Monday in Boston, the tests revealed a fracture.
"Obviously, we had a pretty good idea a few days ago,” Cora said. “But after all the tests in Boston, that’s what came out. We have to be patient. This one has to heal on its own, so we have to be patient.”
Cora didn’t provide a timetable for when Casas could return to the team, but he does expect him to return this season.
Casas initially felt pain in his rib area on a swing during the Red Sox's series against the Guardians at Fenway Park. The slugger tried to play through the pain, but after offering a 3-1 pitch during his first at-bat on Saturday in Pittsburgh, the pain became too severe, and he was removed from the game.
The 24-year-old was off to a strong start, batting .244/.344/.513 in 22 games with an .857 OPS, six homers, and a 138 wRC+.
“Just the at-bat,” Cora said of his injured first baseman. “The power, working the count, the on-base percentage. He’s a force. We saw it last year in the second part of the season. He was really good. He was very important, but we [have to] keep going, man; we’re not going to stop.”
With Casas down, the Red Sox will turn to Bobby Dalbec at first base. Dalbec has looked lost at the dish, entering the Guardians series hitting just .033. He snapped an 0-for-19 drought on Friday with a double against the Pirates.
"We're going to play him a lot," Cora said of Dalbec. "Obviously, the front office is studying the situation and looking around to see if we go somewhere else for that. I talked to Bobby today. He's done if before. In '21, he was really good for us and hit the ball out of the ballpark and played good defense."
The Red Sox are expected to consider other options for the 26-man roster with Casas out. Infielders Jamie Westbrook, Eddy Alvarez, and Nick Sogard are all possibilities for getting an opportunity if other players get injured or Boston needs to mix it up. External options are also under consideration; the club has reportedly reached out to free agent C.J. Cron who the Red Sox had in spring training, and the Cubs recently DFA’d first baseman Garrett Cooper.
