The Red Sox effectively locked in their starting first baseman for the 2023 season in mid-December, two months before the start of spring training.
There was little doubt the job would belong to Triston Casas, but any lingering uncertainty was removed when Boston cut bait with Eric Hosmer. The Red Sox acquired Hosmer ahead of last season's trade deadline and they decided to release him even though he had term on his contract and the San Diego Padres were paying the majority of his salary.
Casas, who only has a month of MLB service under his belt, wasn't expecting Boston to move on from the four-time Gold Glove winner.
"I was very surprised," Hosmer recently told reporters, per MLB.com. "I know we gave up Jay (Groome), and he's an awesome pitcher. I knew, in terms of the contract, there were a couple of more years he could have been here. So I did find it a little odd. I was looking forward to getting to play with him.
"That's stuff that I don’t have control over, and I'm going to miss him because he had a good impact on me in the little time I was there. I wish him the best with Chicago because I know it's a good opportunity, as well, for him."
While Casas was bummed to see Hosmer go, the proven first baseman's exit indicated the Red Sox have very high hopes for the 23-year-old. Casas himself admitted the vote of confidence from the organization was "huge" for his psyche entering his first full season with Boston.
