Red Sox Announce Willson Contreras News Affecting Triston Casas, Masataka Yoshida

Willson Contreras was once one of the best-hitting catchers in Major League Baseball, but this season, he didn't strap on the gear for a single game.

After making the transition to full-time first baseman in his last year with the St. Louis Cardinals, Contreras officially arrived to the Boston Red Sox via trade on Monday. Red Sox fans knew their team was getting a big right-handed bat, but it was worth asking what position(s) he would play.

Craig Breslow, the Red Sox's chief baseball officer, quickly addressed that point in his Monday night press conference, and it seems Contreras' days of wearing catcher's gear in Boston will be minimal, if they exist at all.

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Breslow's comments on Contreras put two sluggers in awkward spots

“We’ll have those conversations,” Breslow said over Zoom, per Sean McAdam of MassLive. “But as of now, we see him primarily at first base, maybe some DH opportunities. But the more that we can get his bat in the lineup, the better off we’re going to be.

"And also, as a credit to him, he made that transition (from catcher to first base) pretty smoothly and even throughout the season last year, improved defensively and by some marks, was a well above-average defensive first baseman.”

While playing Contreras at his most recent position always seemed like the most logical outcome, we must now ask: What does the three-time All-Star's arrival mean for Triston Casas and Masataka Yoshida?

Quick math would tell us that Contreras, Yoshida, and Casas can't all occupy the first base and designated hitter spots. The latter two have been frequently rumored as trade candidates, and this offseason, neither would have much value on the market.

Breslow also said Monday that he reached out to Casas about the trade and still firmly believed the 25-year-old first baseman would play a big role on the team moving forward, though he's still in the recovery process after tearing his left patellar tendon.

It seems unlikely that all three will make it through the season as members of the Red Sox, but one option for Boston is to start Casas in the minors this year as he tries to prove he's ready to start mashing big-league pitching again like he did in the second half of 2023.

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