The Boston Red Sox are expected to activate first baseman Triston Casas for Friday night’s matchup with the Baltimore Orioles, reports MassLive’s Chris Cotillo.
Casas, 24, has been on the injured list since April 21 with torn cartilage in his right rib cage. At the time, he was batting .244 with an .857 OPS, six home runs and 10 RBI in 90 plate appearances.
While Casas has been out, Dominic Smith got the majority of playing time at first base. He batted .237 with a .707 OPS, six home runs, 20 doubles and 34 RBI. Smith was designated for assignment to clear a spot for Casas on Boston’s roster.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora is hoping Casas can make an immediate impact with his power. He’s batting third in Friday’s lineup.
Last season, Casas hit .263 with an .856 OPS, 21 doubles, 24 homers and 65 RBI in 502 plate appearances. He finished third in American League Rookie of the Year balloting.
Casas finished an 11-game rehab assignment with Triple-A Worcester on Thursday. In 47 plate appearances, he batted .300 with a .954 OPS, seven doubles, one home run and seven RBI.
He told the Boston Globe’s Alex Speier that he was hoping to be pain-free when he returned to the major league roster. However, he still feels pain when he makes contact with the ball but is able to recover between at-bats. The issue is when he hits foul balls and the pain still lingers.
“The pain doesn’t happen before contact, thankfully. It’s just at contact,” said Casas. “The tough part is managing the pain in between the pitches – the foul balls, getting back into the box.”
The Red Sox enter Friday’s game in third place in the AL East with a 63–57 record, having lost six of their past eight games. Boston is also 2 1/2 games out of the AL’s final wild-card playoff spot.
