Casas confident, struggles persist
Triston Casas doesn’t take it for granted.
When the Red Sox designated veteran first baseman Eric Hosmer for assignment in December, Casas knew that it meant first base was his job to lose.
“I definitely see the direction [the team] was wanting me to trend,” Casas said recently. “And I take a lot of pride in what I do and everybody knows that. Sometimes you get hits and sometimes you don’t.”
But Casas has struggled at the plate this season.
Casas sat out Tuesday night’s 7-6 victory for the Red Sox, the second of a four-game set against the Blue Jays at Fenway Park. He is hitting .128/.281/ .282 with three homers in 26 games. Casas has a 30.2 percent strikeout rate and has whiffed on 11.1 percent of pitches in the zone, up a couple ticks from last year.
“There’s a few things mechanically that he’s not doing right now,” said manager Alex Cora. It was the third time in four games that Casas didn’t start. “He’s not staying on pitches and driving the ball to leftcenter. That’s something we have to get back to.
“You go back to his best swing in the big leagues was against Gerrit Cole on a 3-0 count. He drove the ball for a home run last year.”
In 78 at-bats this year, Casas has yet to hit a ball hard the other way, per Baseball Savant. According to Cora, Casas also has been plagued by his inability to finish at-bats. Casas will often go deep into the count only to lose in the end. Casas has struck out 10 times on full counts, tied for the fifth most in the majors.
The Sox are banking on Casas’s keen eye at the plate to reel him in. He has a 17 percent walk rate, which shows his strike zone awareness hasn’t wavered. It’s early. But the Sox will need to see results.
“I feel as confident as I ever have been,” Casas said. “I’m happy, knowing that I have the ability to play well gives me confidence.
Paxton: More rehab
James Paxton will make another start for Triple A Worcester Friday, per Cora. Cora added that Paxton is getting closer to making his debut for the Sox, but that the lefthander feels he needs to refine his mechanics before making that leap.
The Sox haven’t made a decision on whether Paxton will be used as a starter or reliever, but Paxton intimated Monday that he wants to remain a starter, which he’s been his entire career. The results of Friday’s outing won’t determine how the Sox decide to utilize Paxton.
“He could give up 10 in five innings,” Cora said. “It’s just a matter of health. We thought the last one was good. He feels that there are a few things that he can do better. This is like spring training. We don’t want to rush people onto the big stage. So we’ll be patient. The good thing is that he’s pitching on regular rest, which is very important. After [Friday] we’ll see where we’re at.”
Yoshida on a roll
Masataka Yoshida went 2 for 3 with a home run to extend his hit streak to 12 games, the longest active streak in baseball ... Garrett Whitlock met with doctors Tuesday and Cora said that he’s trending in the right direction after being placed on the injured list with right elbow neuritis . . . Righthander Zack Kelly underwent a successful ulnar nerve transposition revision in his right elbow Tuesday. The surgery was performed by Dr. Jeffrey Dugas at The Andrews Institute in Birmingham, Ala. ... Joely Rodriguez (oblique) threw live batting practice at Fenway South on Tuesday. Cora believes Rodriguez’s next outing will be at Double A Portland or Triple A Worcester. The lefthander has yet to pitch this season after signing as a free agent in November.