Triston Casas over the weekend watched one of his peers receive a life-changing payday after essentially a cup of coffee at the big league level.
One has to imagine Casas has aspirations to break the bank at a similar level, but at this juncture, it's not something the Red Sox first baseman is focusing on.
The Arizona Diamondbacks on Saturday reportedly agreed to an eight-year, $111 million extension with outfielder Corbin Carroll, who only has 32 MLB games under his belt. Casas, a fellow first-round pick drafted one year earlier than Carroll, played 27 games with the Red Sox last season after making his big league debut with Boston in early September.
Casas admitted it was "encouraging" to see Carroll cash in despite the small sample size. But as he embarks on his first full season with the Red Sox, money isn't at the forefront of the 23-year-old's mind.
"It's really not something I'm focused on, at all," Casas told WEEI's Rob Bradford. "Me, personally, I feel like I'm getting better every day. The money to me is secondary. I'm focused on winning games and getting better every single day. I know the money will come if I just take care of what I need to do. Right now I'm just trying to make a name for myself. I'm happy for Corbin and his family, but I'm just focused on here and now. I can't get $100 million ahead of myself. I'm just trying to make my seventy-fifty this year."
Casas added: "Up until right now, I haven't talked to anybody about it. I feel like once you start talking with people about numbers it can hurt people's feelings and that's the last thing I want to do in this clubhouse. We're all here for a common goal and we're all pulling on the same side of the rope. And if you really think about everybody has the same amount of contribution to the team. The left fielder has as many chances as the second baseman and the right fielder is just as important as the third baseman. How much money everybody makes really doesn't matter, and how much money I'm going to make doesn't matter. I'm focused on making relationships and being a good teammate and having my teammates on my side and playing well for the fans and being an overall good player. The numbers will take care of itself."
The young first baseman deserves credit for maintaining such an approach despite being highly touted at every turn since the Red Sox drafted him 26th overall in 2018. And like Casas said, financial fortune will come his way as long as he takes care of business and plays to the level he's capable of.
