Why Triston Casas Was At Red Sox Rookie Development Program

Triston Casas began the week celebrating his 24th birthday, and it was a surprise when he showed up to the Red Sox rookie development program Wednesday.

Marcelo Mayer and Kyle Teel spoke highly of the advice the Boston first baseman offered. The program featured players with Major League Baseball experience like Isaiah Campbell and Vaughn Grissom. But Casas was not an invitee, and he completed his first major league season last year. It turned out he was very eager to come to the program.

"I did not get invited to come," Casas told MassLive's Christopher Smith. "I wanted to come and I wanted to be here. I would have come on the first day if it wasn't for my birthday dinner that I had planned on Monday. I requested to come out here. It's a lot of new faces: coaching staff, front office and especially players."

Casas isn't much older than Boston's top two prospects: Mayer (21) and Anthony (19). The first baseman's fast ascension to the major league roster is also one the program's participants can use for inspiration.

"This is a young group of talent that I've heard a lot about and I hadn't gotten the chance to meet except for (Wednesday) when I did," Casas said. "I'm looking forward to developing relationships with all of them in the next couple of years."

Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens was invited Wednesday and gave a big-picture message to the players, who are scheduled to be at Red Sox Winter Weekend in Springfield, Mass.