Red Sox Insider Says Triston Casas' Message May Foreshadow Pete Alonso Pursuit

It's been five weeks without Boston Red Sox baseball, and the story suddenly sweeping the fan base by storm is... Triston Casas' Instagram posts.

Late on Tuesday, Casas posted a picture of himself hitting a home run against the Seattle Mariners in April, with an extremely cryptic caption that was surely directed at someone, but didn't name its intended target.

"If we’re gonna have any chance at something decent it’s stuff like this that needs to be addressed,"Casas wrote. "I’m going to try to be as transparent as possible… within reason. No delusion, just normalizing the tough conversation."

What was Casas talking about, exactly?

Triston Casas, Pete Alonso — Sep 2, 2024; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets first base Pete Alonso (20) is out at first base after Boston Red Sox first baseman Triston Casas (36) fields a low throw in the first inning at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images | Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

It's rare that Casas is unwilling to talk about something, as the 25-year-old was blessed with the gift of gab, even when he's talking about something he probably shouldn't be, like the team's ideal starting lineup during the first week of spring training. So what, exactly, is going on here?

Insider Rob Bradford of WEEI presented a theory on Wednesday: He thinks Casas may be miffed by the notion that the Red Sox could be (or perhaps already are) expressing an interest in five-time All-Star first baseman Pete Alonso in free agency, or even just that they aren't acting confidently about Casas himself being the starting first baseman on opening day.

"I think that the opportunity here is to maybe experience A.I.," Bradford said on "WEEI Afternoons." "There's a good possibility that Triston Casas basically put this through A.I. and that's what came out, or if we said to A.I., 'What did Triston Casas mean by this?' it'll give us some sort of answer. Because the human brain can't get around what he wrote here.

"I mean, my guess is, the whole idea of signing Pete Alonso and not even mentioning Triston Casas in offseason situations, maybe that was it. 'Don't count me out.' But that was a very diluted 'don't count me out' Instagram post."

Certainly, the Red Sox have been noncommittal about Casas claiming his starting spot back after a torn patellar tendon suffered in May (and a rough first 32 games before that). But on a larger scale, a bat like Alonso's is exactly what this team needs -- a proven 40-homer, 120-RBI threat.

There was a time when the Red Sox professed their belief that Casas would one day turn into that. Whether they've pulled a 180 on that behind closed doors will be one of the biggest revelations of the winter.

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