MLB Notebook: Red Sox’ Triston Casas addresses future at Fenway Fest as Roman Anthony calls final month of rookie season a ‘failure’

The Red Sox made a significant splash last month by completing their second trade with the Cardinals this offseason, acquiring first baseman Willson Contreras. The move was designed to solidify the position and move away from the platoon approach Boston has relied on in recent seasons.

With Contreras now in the fold, questions naturally arise about how the Red Sox will deploy Triston Casas during the 2026 season. Speaking with reporters at Fenway Fest in Boston on Saturday, Casas said the acquisition did not serve as a wake-up call.

“The first baseman position for this team has lacked, over the last couple of years, the production from that spot,” Casas said. “As of right now, the way that it is, he’s a better player than me and has been for his entire career. To upgrade a position that has been deficient for the last two years is exactly what the team needed. Hopefully, I can come back to the player I was a couple of years ago and know what I can be and contribute to the team in whatever fashion and at whatever position they see fit for me.”

Casas, 25, is currently rehabbing from a ruptured patellar tendon in his right knee, an injury he suffered in a collision while running down the first-base line on May 2. While he’s targeting an Opening Day return, the severity of the injury—combined with his recent injury history—made it impossible for Boston to structure its 2026 plans around the assumption he would be ready at the start of the season.

If healthy, Casas could split time with Contreras at first base and at designated hitter. However, Boston still has Masataka Yoshida on the roster, and he will also need time at DH.

After completing the trade, chief baseball officer Craig Breslow reached out directly to Casas to explain the organization’s thinking.

“It’s no secret that Triston has tremendous potential,” Breslow said before addressing the media about the Contreras acquisition. “But he also hasn’t been able to stay on the field the last couple of years thanks to two really unfortunate—but significant—injuries.”

The Red Sox aren’t questioning Casas’ upside. Instead, they’re acknowledging a pattern that has limited his availability at the major league level—and adjusting accordingly.

“I had a chance to talk to Triston this morning, and what I told him is exactly what I’ll share with all of you,” Breslow said. “We still have a ton of confidence and belief in Triston. What he needs to do is commit to doing everything possible to get back on the field. He’s doing that right now.”

Casas understands why Boston made the move and believes he can still carve out a role on the 26-man roster.

“I don’t have any expectation for that,” Casas said of his role. “I expect (Contreras) is going to get a lot of reps at first base. I don’t think he’s been playing the position for very long, but his defensive numbers have been quite stellar considering the change from catcher to first base. I think everybody’s impressed. I expect him to get that role, at least to start the season, but there’s going to be a lot of turnover on the roster like there is every year. Hopefully, I can find a spot to make my mark.”

Both Breslow and manager Alex Cora have emphasized that getting healthy is Casas’ primary objective early in camp, and it’s likely he’ll be behind other position players when the team reports to Fort Myers next month. Casas hopes to appear in spring training games ahead of his early-season return and plans to let his role sort itself out.

“I’m trying to control what I can,” Casas said. “It hasn’t worked out for me how I imagined it, but that doesn’t mean this year I can’t rewrite that script.

“I’ve had no wake-up calls my whole life. I’ve tried to stay ahead of the curve, and this is going to be no different.”

If Casas can stay healthy and put together productive full seasons, it would provide a major boost to the Red Sox lineup and roster flexibility. He burst onto the scene during his rookie campaign, finishing third in American League Rookie of the Year voting after hitting .263 with 24 home runs, 21 doubles, and an .856 OPS in 132 games.

A cartilage tear in his rib cage limited him to just 63 games in 2024, and the knee injury cut short his 2025 season after only 29 appearances.

Casas has the talent to be an impactful major league hitter, but injuries have slowed the start of his career.

“I definitely believe in my abilities and think they’re up there with the best in the game,” Casas said. “I’ve just got to be on the field and stay healthy to get that sample size.

“I’ve had good stretches as a major league player. I’ve had mostly bad ones. I see and know the habits of the best, and I think I’m right there with them. I haven’t shown it on the field yet, but mentally, I still believe I have the potential to be an All-Star-caliber player.”

Casas has been participating in baseball activities, but there’s still doubt he’ll be ready for Opening Day. 

“I definitely want to make an impact from the first day,” Casas said Saturday. “That’d be 11 months from the surgery. So that would be a tight squeeze in terms of the relative overall consensus of how long it would take to recover from what I had injured, but it’s not unrealistic. I’ve talked to other players who have had the injury and they’ve said 11 months is very reasonable. So as of right now, not too sure. Not trying to get ahead of myself, but I do see myself progressing well enough to maybe get into some spring training games. We’ll see how that goes because that’s a benchmark as well.”

He said he’s increasing the volume of baseball activities, but doesn’t want to rush anything within his rehab. 

“Right around the 12-month mark is typically when all activity is supposed to return to normal,” Casas said. “That’s for me to I guess decide in a couple months — how I’m feeling up at that point. But I like the way I’m progressing. I’ve met every benchmark that I’ve had to up to now. I don’t know if it’s a good thing or a bad thing, but I surprise myself a lot just expecting pain in certain exercises that I don’t have and I’m happy about that."

SORTING OUT THE LINEUP

With spring training less than a month away, the Red Sox still have work to do as they finalize their roster for the 2026 season. That uncertainty hasn’t stopped Cora from locking in one key lineup decision with Contreras expected to hit cleanup.

“I know Willson will probably hit fourth. I know that one,” Cora said Saturday at Fenway Fest at Fenway Park.

Contreras represents the most significant addition of Boston’s offseason. With first base a revolving door in recent seasons, the veteran slugger arrives as the club’s clear everyday option.

“Willson’s going to bring a lot,” Cora said. “He hits the ball hard. It’s a good at-bat. He drives the ball to right-center, but last year, he pulled the ball a little more than usual, which is awesome for us.”

While Contreras appears cemented in the heart of the order, the rest of the lineup remains very much in flux — particularly at the top.

Cora admitted he has no clear answer yet for who will lead off, with Roman Anthony and Jarren Duran both expected to be in the mix.

“I’m not there yet, to be honest,” Cora said. “Usually by this point, I have a pretty good idea what we’re going to do. But honestly, I have no idea. We have to wait and see what the roster is going to look like. A few positions are going to be battles, and that’s going to dictate what we do.

“For the first time in years, I don’t know how we’re going to do it.”

Outside of Anthony and Duran, there are few obvious leadoff candidates on the roster. Cora emphasized his desire to build a balanced lineup, alternating left- and right-handed hitters — even if the roster remains heavily left-handed.

“I still believe we’re very left-handed,” Cora said. “But at the same time, we were very left-handed last year and still scored runs. We just have to create balance — by trades, free agency, or developing guys. We’ll see where we’re at when we get to Fort Myers.”

Despite persistent offseason speculation, it does not appear the Red Sox are eager to trade from their outfield depth. That means Duran and Wilyer Abreu are expected to report to camp in February.

Breslow addressed rumors suggesting the club has shopped Duran or Abreu to reporters at Fenway Fest. 

“It was never likely in my mind,” Breslow said. “We’ve got really talented outfielders. When teams call, that’s what other executives point to. They’re young, they’re controllable, they’re dynamic, and they can impact games in multiple ways. It’s really nice to be able to say they’re also members of the Boston Red Sox.”

Boston’s outfield depth chart currently includes Abreu, Duran, Anthony, Ceddanne Rafaela, Yoshida, and Kristian Campbell, with players like Romy Gonzalez, Nick Sogard, and Nate Eaton capable of filling in as needed.

If the Red Sox retain their surplus, Cora will need to get creative to ensure consistent at-bats across the roster.

Cora also indicated Saturday that he prefers Rafaela to remain in center field rather than shifting to second base. Rafaela won a Gold Glove last season, and with Marcelo Mayer and Campbell in the picture, Boston has multiple options on the infield. Mayer is expected to be ready for spring training after he underwent season-ending wrist surgery on Aug. 20.

“I’m pretty much doing full baseball activity, like a normal ramp-up, as I would for a regular season going into spring training,” Mayer said. “So I feel like I’m in a good spot.”

Where Mayer plays this season hinges on what happens with Alex Bregman and Bo Bichette.

“Ceddanne is an incredibly gifted athlete and can impact the game in so many ways,” Breslow said. “He is game-changing in center field. Giving him the consistency of playing the same position every single day also has benefits to his offense.”

Abreu is expected to see more time against left-handed pitching, helping the two-time Gold Glove winner remain in right field on a near-everyday basis. That could push Duran, Yoshida, Contreras, and possibly Casas later in the season into DH rotations.

“We talked a lot about our outfield depth — even calling it a surplus at times,” Breslow said. “Then in September, we were without two very, very good players. I’ve yet to meet the person who says, ‘We have too many good players.’

“Alex is really, really talented at communicating with players and keeping them fresh and engaged. Going into spring training with the group we have is something I’m comfortable with, but if there are opportunities to improve the team and address other needs, we have to be willing to listen.”

ANTHONY ON FINAL MONTH OF ROOKIE YEAR: ‘IT FELT LIKE A FAILURE’

Boston lost Anthony at the end of the season after the rookie suffered an oblique injury in September. The injury forced him to miss the American League Wild Card playoff round.

Anthony struggled watching his teammates from afar in the postseason, unable to help the Red Sox against the Yankees.

“It was awful,” Anthony said on Saturday. “Unfortunately, to me, it felt like a failure because you grind and you grind all year, and you finally get up (to the big leagues), and the one goal is you want to win and you want to get to the playoffs. We unlocked that ability to get to the playoffs.

“Unfortunately, I was hurt, and it felt like I was a part of it, but wasn’t at the same time because you feel so isolated. Then when I was in (Fort Myers to rehab the injury) and I was watching from a distance, you always feel that ‘What if?’ factor and you want to imagine yourself being there. It stung for sure, but again for me, I can’t really look at it like that anymore. I just have to take it as a learning lesson and apply that to 2026 and don’t let it happen again.”

Anthony’s injury came on Sept. 2, but he attempted to remain positive and hopeful that he hadn't played his final game of 2025.

“Those are always thoughts when anything happens,” he said. “I kind of think the worst. When it happened, it was something that I never felt before. It was more extreme than anything I had ever felt and it was very new to me. I hadn’t gone through an injury, I hadn’t really dealt with anything more than back spasms. I knew then and there that it wasn’t a back spasm and it was pretty severe. I just treid to stay as positive as I could, but when I heard (the prognosis), I wasn’t necessarily surprised.”

Anthony said he didn’t feel fully recovered until almost Thanksgiving. But he maintained that he could have returned to play later in October had the Red Sox advanced beyond the first round.

“Absolutely, in my mind,” he said, “with what we were talking about and what I made clear was that I wanted to (return). Had they felt confident enough that they could hand me the decision....we were on the same page. That was the goal.

“Being in Florida, watching those (playoff) games, I was like, ‘I gotta get out there; this is driving me crazy.’ It was tough, but we’re healthy now, good to go. We’re moving on to this year.”

The Sox and Anthony expect he’ll be a full-go for spring training.

“I had about a month and a half of hardcore rehab,” Anthony said. “And then by like that two-month mark around Thanksgiving, maybe a little bit before that, I was finally throwing med balls hard, rotating hard, doing things where I say, OK, I could get into a cage right now, be confident that I could swing and not only swing, but take a pitch and kind of emulate that same check swing-ish movement that happened. It was a work in progress. Obviously it was a little bit different of a mindset after we unfortunately lost.”