Boston Red Sox First Baseman Triston Casas On Verge of Starting Rehab Assignment

Triston Casas, who has been out for over three months with a rib injury, is taking batting practice and could start a rehab assignment in the Boston Red Sox's minor league system this week.

Apr 20, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora (13) and first baseman Triston Casas (right) talk on the field before the game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park. | Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Boston Red Sox first baseman Triston Casas could start a minor league rehab assignment by the end of this week, chief baseball officer Craig Breslow said Thursday morning on WEEI's "The Greg Hill Show."

Casas, per Breslow, just started taking full batting practice for the first time since tearing cartilage in his left ribcage on April 20.

In Casas' absence, Boston has leaned on 29-year-old Dominic Smith to take on the bulk of the reps at first base. Smith is batting .232 with a .697 OPS and -0.2 WAR since joining the Red Sox in May.

Red Sox first baseman Triston Casas is taking full batting practice and could begin a rehab assignment by the end of the week, according to CBO Craig Breslow on @TheGregHillShow. pic.twitter.com/Y3uZDsR6q2

— Chris Henrique (@ChrisHenrique) July 25, 2024

Casas was initially expected to return in late June, then on July 1. Back on July 4, MLB.com's Ian Browne reported that Casas was two weeks away from starting a rehab assignment.

The 24-year-old continued to miss benchmark after benchmark in his recovery process, however, as he has now missed Boston's last 80 games.

Through it all, Casas managed to get in swings when he could – if you can call them swings. The first baseman went viral in June for earnestly saying he has taken "thousands of at-bats" in his head since getting hurt.

Casas was batting .244 with six home runs, 10 RBI, an .857 OPS and 0.2 WAR through 22 games before he went down.

After making his MLB debut in 2022, Casas took the next step in 2023. He hit .263 with 24 home runs, 65 RBI, an .856 OPS in 132 games, finishing third in AL Rookie of the Year voting in the process.

The former first round pick is a candidate to earn a contract extension from the Red Sox in the near future, even though he isn't slated to hit free agency until 2029. Boston locked up two of its other top homegrown players, Brayan Bello and Ceddanne Rafaela, through the end of the decade this past spring.

Casas' top priority in the short-term is getting back in the lineup, though, and it seems like he's finally making significant progress towards that goal.

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