Craig Breslow is doubling down on the Red Sox’s commitment to their slugging young first baseman.
In his availability with reporters on Monday, Boston’s baseball ops boss said for (at least) the second time this offseason that he views the 24-year-old left-handed Triston Casas as an anchor of the Sox’s lineup for years to come.
“We’re not shopping Triston,” Breslow said. “We see him as a guy that can hit in the middle of the lineup for a really long time here in Boston.”
Breslow added that he wasn’t sure where all the Casas rumors have been coming from. Well, for starters, who you reportedly dangle him in a deal for a high-caliber pitcher, that’s a good place to start in your search for an answer…
The real answer is that these Sox entered the offseason needing pitching. Unlike other young core pieces like Brayan Bello and Ceddanne Rafaela, Casas’ contract situation was and still is not settled. And the Sox had shown signs of organizational frustration with Casas at points last season, like during his drawn out rehab process.
The smoke was there for a potential Casas trade, and while you can never say never in sports, I think Breslow’s second denial of any potential move this offseason should all but seal Casas’ fate as a Red Sox — for 2025, at least.
And as I've long said, that’s a good thing. We’re still talking about a player who was once considered among the top prospects in baseball. There’s a reason why, and we’ve seen it. Casas has a promising bat and has made strides as a defender. He’s been willing to take on a leadership role on a team that is devoid of leadership.
It makes the most sense to let the Casas situation continue to play out and see what you have in him. Should he make significant strides this season, the decision to offer him a long-term deal should become easier. And if he doesn’t, you can cut ties with a trade next offseason…
Sixth man?
According to Breslow, the Sox are "very, very open” to the possibility of utilizing a six-man rotation heading into the 2025 season.
Breslow’s comments come after Boston has acquired three starting pitchers this offseason — Garrett Crochet in a trade with the White Sox, then Patrick Sandoval and Walker Buehler as free agents.
Add those arms to an existing stable of Bello, Tanner Houck, Lucas Giolito and Kutter Crawford, and you’ve suddenly got too many cooks in the kitchen…
Six-man rotations aren’t a new concept in baseball, but it’s not often that you see them used successfully. Why? Well, I’d say in part because it’s pretty rare to keep five starters healthy at the same time throughout the course of a season.
Another drawback is that… the pitchers themselves don’t like it, and why should they? Adding another starter into the mix means fewer potential starts than you’d have in a normal five-man rotation.
In a day and age when every start, run, strikeout, walk etc. carries significant weight contractually, you’re not going to make a lot of guys happy if you take away their opportunities.
Count Giolito as one of them.
“I don’t love 6-man rotations,” he told Audacy’s “Baseball Isn’t Boring” podcast. “I feel like when I’m in a good grove of that 4-day rest, that feels right for me personally. I’m not going to be holding a picket sign, if it benefits the team, I get it.”
Now, Giolito isn’t really good enough at this stage of his career to be dictating the Sox’s rotation plans (and it seems he knows it). But that sentiment rings true for most guys. I’d imagine every aforementioned Sox starter would feel the same way…
Personally, I don’t have a problem if the Sox want to go this route to start the season — mostly because it isn’t going to matter in a month or two when one or a few of these guys start missing starts with injuries.
As Breslow himself said on Monday, “I don't think it's possible to have too much starting pitching depth.” Given this team’s lack of depth in that area in recent years, I say the more the merrier…
Vladdy rumors
Alex Bregman remains unsigned. Pete Alonso is still out there, as is Anthony Santander and other potential fits. So why are we suddenly hearing Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s name pop up again in relation to the Red Sox?
A quick Google search for “Vladdy Jr.” and “Red Sox” will reveal an intriguing amount of stories once again linking the Sox to one of the game’s premier right-handed hitters. There doesn't appear to be much substance behind it in terms of sourced reporting.
I’m not knocking my colleagues here. It’s a 24/7 news cycle, and content is king. Sportswriters nowadays are often asked to write to a quote, not only when there is actual news to warrant it.
That being said, we know that where there’s smoke, there’s usually fire. With things seemingly at a stalemate with Bregman and still no signs of the Sox showing significant interest in Alonso for a reason I cannot fathom, well, perhaps the team is starting to consider some outside options?
We last heard of some rumors linking Boston as a potential destination for Vlad before last season’s trade deadline. I was all for it then, and I’d certainly be all for it now…
Of course, as was the case with the Crochet trade, a Vladdy Jr. trade would almost certainly require the Sox to give up a significant prospect or two. Given Breslow’s stance on Casas, it seems unlikely he would be the guy at this point. And if you aren’t giving up a first baseman to bring in a first baseman, then that means you’d most likely plug Vladdy at DH. We’ve seen how tough it’s been to move Masataka Yoshida already…
Are the Sox going to part with another one of their top prospects after already dealing away Kyle Teel this offseason? Romany Anthony, Marcelo Mayer, Kristian Campbell? It seems unlikely.
Maybe the price might come down as time progresses and if Vlad Jr. and the Blue Jays still can’t reach a deal on a contract extension. But for now, the Vlad-to-Boston rumors seem more like a pipe dream than anything…
