The Red Sox are still scrambling for answers when it comes to replacing first baseman Triston Casas, who tore the patellar tendon, the ligament that connects the kneecap to the tibia, in his knee at the beginning of the month. That will keep Casas out for the remainder of the season.
Losing Casas for a second straight year–he struggled last season and was limited to 63 games because of an oblique injury–is bad news for a team that has been counting on him as a young centerpiece power hitter, but it is even worse for the Red Sox as an organization, because first base is the one position at which the team has no real depth.
As it stands, Romy Gonzalez looked to be the top choice to fill in for Casas, except that he, too has been out with an injury. And more bad news has landed on that front: Gonzalez first suffered a quad contusion on May 7, and was expected to miss only 10 days. But he remains out, and according to MassLive, has had a setback.
Romy Gonzalez ‘Going to Take Longer Than Expected’
Here’s what the site’s Chris Smith wrote about Gonzalez and his potential return: “Gonzalez was placed on the injured list three days later and was supposed to miss the minimum 10 days. But two weeks after the injury, he’s still in pain and a rehab assignment is not imminent.”
He quoted manager Alex Cora on the subject, “He’s not bouncing back the way we wanted,” said Cora. “When he started running, he felt it again. So it’s going to take longer than expected.”
Gonzalez had been off to a good start with the bat, batting .308 with a .362 on-base percentage and a .423 slugging mark. In his place, Nick Sogard (.258) and Abraham Toro (.192) have been less than inspiring.
Red Sox Not Looking to Change Roman Anthony’s Position
The subject of who will play first base in 2025 has been the defining topic through the first two months of this season, with DH Rafael Devers drawing the ire of fans for not being willing to move to the position and with the Red Sox beginning to work out rookie second baseman Kristian Campbell at first as a potential solution.
One solution that would be welcomed by Red Sox faithful would be converting uber-prospect Roman Anthony from outfield to first, finally paving the way for his promotion to MLB.
But Craig Breslow, the Red Sox personnel chief, rained on that parade this month, saying that Anthony’s future should be focused on the outfield.
“I think just given [Anthony’s] age, there’s still an opportunity for him to develop in the outfield. Until you feel like that’s in a place where there isn’t just a massive opportunity cost to taking reps away, that’s where he should be focused,” Breslow told The Boston Globe. “And also, I think obviously, at some point he’s going to be impacting our major league team, and to throw another variable into the mix probably doesn’t make a ton of sense when that transition in and of itself can be difficult at times.”
Red Sox Get Bad News on Top First Base Option