Red Sox Predicted To Dump 25-Year-Old Fan Favorite In Upcoming Trade

How many position players can remain in place?

May 14, 2014; Minneapolis, MN, USA; A general view of a glove and Boston Red Sox hat in the dugout prior to a game between the Boston Red Sox and Minnesota Twins at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images | Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images

There are a lot of loose ends for the Boston Red Sox to tidy up in the new year.

Boston's position player group doesn't have a lot of obvious superstars, but there's quality depth all around. By trading for former St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Willson Contreras in December, the Red Sox created an obvious surplus.

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If former starting first baseman Triston Casas is healthy, where is he going to play? As things currently stand, he'd be scrapping against Masataka Yoshida and the Red Sox's fourth outfielder on any given day for designated hitter duties.

Is Triston Casas getting traded this year?

As Casas works his way back from a season-ending knee injury, suffered in May, one insider thinks his time as a Red Sox could already be ticking down.

On Monday, Chris Cotillo of MassLive predicted that the Red Sox and Casas would experience "discord" and part ways by the trade deadline this year, due to the addition of Contreras, and with Casas' obvious talent serving to re-establish his value to another club.

"Casas is a bright individual who understands why the Red Sox needed to bring someone like Contreras in to play first base," Cotillo wrote. "He’ll likely say as much Saturday at Fenway Fest.

"Still, if healthy, Casas is too talented to play at Triple-A or be in a bench role. A strong spring training or first-half performance in an imperfect role could lead to Casas being a pretty good trade candidate at 26."

It feels like a lifetime ago by now that Casas was tearing up major league pitching in the second half of 2023 on his way to a third-place Rookie of the Year finish. His rib injury in 2024 and the devastating knee tendon tear last year have put him behind the eight-ball, because one can have all the talent in the world, but be worthless to their team from the bench.

Casas has more upside than Contreras and Yoshida. But even if Yoshida is moved, there could be limited at-bats for Casas if none of Boston's outfielders (Jarren Duran and Wilyer Abreu in particular) get traded.

No one should close the door on Casas' tenure in Boston yet, but it will be interesting to see what both sides say about their relationship as spring training draws near.

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