Triston Casas Explains ‘Motivation’ Red Sox Provided Amid Recovery

It's been over three months since Triston Casas last suited up for the Boston Red Sox, but the much-anticipated journey back took its step toward progress on Tuesday night when the 24-year-old made his first rehab assignment with Triple-A Worcester.

The Worcester Red Sox plugged Casas into their starting lineup, batting second as the designated hitter, which will be the first time Casas has faced live in-game pitching since April 20. But before taking the field, Casas made it (abundantly) clear where he's setting the bar for the big league club in Boston amid its run toward securing a playoff spot.

"Seeing that every day has been my motivation," Casas told reporters at Polar Park, per Tommy Cassell of Worcester T&G Sports. "Every single day we come to the park there's a lot of great energy within the clubhouse and it shows out there on the field. So hungry to get back out there and try to contribute to what they're doing at the major league level because it's really exciting. Everybody's playing really well, the pitching is holding up and the batting is coming through so hopefully I can come back, not miss a beat, go with the flow, and keep winning games."

Before the season began, Casas was among the key pieces of Boston's vision for returning to contention. He'd just been in the middle of American League Rookie of the Year candidacy talks in 2023, and the projected power that built Casas' hype throughout the minor leagues had come to life -- Casas belted 24 home runs, including 15 in the second half of last season. Questions surrounding the future of first base in Boston were no longer warranted and the position was up for the taking until Casas suffered the torn cartilage in his left ribcage, which landed him on the 60-day injured list.

"I'm really excited," Casas said, per Cassell. "It's been a lot of work for sure -- mental grind as well as a physical one, but I like where I'm at in both places and from here forward it's about production. I gotta focus on playing well, getting hits and making sure that I'm feeling good as well."

Casas took some live batting practice swings at Fenway Park before Monday night's series opener against the Seattle Mariners. Boston took that contest in blowout fashion, 14-7, leaving the club 6 1/2 games behind the division-leading Baltimore Orioles with 57 games left to play for the Red Sox. It's a tight three-team race for the top of the AL East and in the wild-card standings, the Kansas City Royals stood only a game ahead of Boston for the third and final playoff spot. Long story short, there's still plenty of time.