Triston Casas’ Amazing Breakout Raises Two Questions About Red Sox Star

The rookie quickly has become an offensive force

by

Sep 7, 2023

Triston Casas already answered one important question this season: He is a foundational piece around which the Boston Red Sox can build.

Casas entered Thursday's off-day slashing .268/.369/.499 with 23 home runs and 60 RBIs in 125 games (471 plate appearances) -- very good numbers for a 23-year-old rookie -- and has been one of the hottest hitters in Major League Baseball for the better part of two months.

In fact, MLB.com on Tuesday labeled Casas the No. 1 "top-performing" rookie over the past 30 days, marking the second consecutive month he earned the top spot.

Since July 8, Boston's final game before the All-Star break, Casas has a .340/.432/.667 slash line to go along with 14 homers and 33 RBIs in 48 games (185 plate appearances). He ranks second in MLB -- behind only Mookie Betts -- with a 190 wRC+ in the second half. The hulking first baseman trails only Corey Seager in slugging percentage during that stretch, and only Betts and Shohei Ohtani -- two bonafide superstars -- have a higher OPS.

Case closed, right? Pencil him in for 2024 and beyond.

That then brings us to two follow-up questions, each with long-term implications for Boston:

1. Will Casas be named American League Rookie of the Year?

2. Should the Red Sox explore a contract extension with Casas?

Even though Casas has been awesome, the odds still suggest he won't win AL Rookie of the Year. He entered Thursday with +1000 odds, per FanDuel Sportsbook, second on the betting board behind Gunnar Henderson of the Baltimore Orioles (-900).

Henderson, who has split time between shortstop and third base, leads all AL rookies in fWAR (3.2), whereas Casas ranks 12th -- the disparity, of course, stemming from their respective defensive contributions.

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This is somewhat significant because MLB recently added a Prospect Promotion Incentive, which awards an additional draft pick to the Rookie of the Year's team if that player meets certain eligibility requirements. Those requirements include ranking as a preseason Top-100 prospect (according to at least two of MLB.com, ESPN and Baseball America) and his team giving him a full year of service time. Casas checks both boxes.

That obviously would be a nice little victory for the Red Sox, whose playoff hopes are dwindling as they navigate a difficult September schedule. But Casas' own emergence is of greater importance, because Boston still is searching for its next long-term core. And first base -- a major pain point in recent years -- no longer looks like an area of need.

Casas is under club control through 2028. So, the Red Sox don't need to work out a contract extension right away. But it might behoove them to consider the possibility sooner than later, so as to offer Casas life-altering financial security in exchange for locking him in for the long haul at a reasonable rate.

"Yes, it's something that I would entertain," Casas recently told The Boston Globe of a contract extension.

It appears, for now, Casas is focused on raking, with the Red Sox hanging on by a thread in the race for the AL's third wild-card spot. He's very much part of Boston's present and future, a reality that wasn't totally apparent before this season but looks more obvious with each monster performance.

Thumbnail photo via David Banks/USA TODAY Sports Images

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