Year with Red Sox put Casas on a promising path
How does Triston Casas approach goals for the 2024 season?
As a 23-year-old, Casas had an excellent campaign, hitting .263/.367/.490 with 24 home runs to finish third in AL Rookie of the Year voting. By the end of a dazzling second half (.317/.417/ .617), he’d emerged as a middle-of-the-order presence.
The trajectory of his season was perhaps the most promising development for the Red Sox in 2023. Certainly, Casas and the Sox hope the season represented the ground floor with several levels to ascend.
After all, Casas noted that his numbers as a rookie were relatively in line with what he’d done in the minor leagues in 2019 (.256/.350/.480 as a 19-year-old, mostly in Single A), 2021 (.279/ .394/.484, mostly in Double A Portland), and 2022 (.273/.382/.481 in Triple A Worcester before his call-up in September).
He’s never spent consecutive years in the same spot, against the same level of competition. The prospect of doing so in 2024 is tantalizing.
“I’m excited to see what the future holds for me going into the next years,” Casas said last week while volunteering at the Greater Boston Food Bank. “This is the first time that I’m repeating a level [in back-to-back years]. So I’m interested just to see what kind of strides I make compared to the league, where that cat-and-mouse game goes.”
Despite that intrigue, Casas said his focus has shifted now that he has a big league foundation. In many ways, he learned to survive at baseball’s highest level in 2023. Much of his attention was self-directed.
Moving forward, his sights are less on personal goals than on team achievements. Aside from a desire to play 162 games in 2024 — of note, he said the shoulder inflammation that ended his 2023 season a couple of weeks early is resolved — his outlook for next year centers on collective accomplishments.
“This year was about playing a lot of games and learning from success and failure at this level. Next year, it’s all about winning,” said Casas. “Seeing teams in the postseason, how they were playing, the quality at-bats their lineups were taking, the defense they were playing, it made
me hungry to get there.
“In terms of goals, in terms of expectations, I want to be on the field for every single game and I want to make the playoffs. Those are my two goals for next year. We’ll see where the chips lie next October, but going into spring training, those are the only two things that I want to be able to control, starting with staying healthy but trying to make more of an impact, not only with my play but also possibly with my insight to either the younger generation that comes up or to the [veterans] that somehow, maybe I’ve better earned trust from.”
The Sox encouraged Casas as the season progressed to grow as a teammate. They wanted him to speak up more frequently in hitters’ meetings before games. And as young players such as Wilyer Abreu came up late in the season, the Sox encouraged Casas to spend more time helping and mentoring others. Over time, he became comfortable in that role.
“I feel even though I am a young guy on the team that I can make an impact on this generation [of players],” Casas said. “The [group] that we have right now is really good, led by Raffy Devers and Trevor Story, the left side of our infield. They’re going to be our anchors. But there’s a lot of prospects coming up that are going to give us a good chance to win for a really long time. I’m really excited about the future. Whatever impacts I’ve made on [young teammates] along the way, whether it be at earlier levels or in spring training, it’s all for the betterment of [the team].”
Casas hopes to use his experience not only to help teammates but also the region. His participation alongside teammates
Brennan Bernardino, Chris Murphy, and Brandon Walter in the Red Sox’ holiday caravan — with visits to hospitals and charitable programs — represented an interest in becoming more deeply invested in the community.
“Baseball is great, hitting home runs is good, and winning World Series is even better, but giving back to the community and somehow making an impact in somebody’s life is better than those things,” said Casas. “I struggle sometimes with knowing my purpose in life and what this all means, being a baseball player compared to a workforce member or a teacher or a firefighter. We get so much attention and compensation that sometimes I’m confused about the dynamic of the world.
“But I want to use this platform for good. Any opportunity that I can get to come up to Boston or give back to the community or hopefully one day get into [hosting] charitable events and foundations, to tap into that after I’ve gained my platform, I’m here to give going forward.”
The combination of early success, the ability to influence other players, and a desire to deepen roots in the region suggests a player who could factor prominently in the Red Sox’ future, on and off the field. Such characteristics also make Casas a natural candidate for discussions about a long-term deal.
The first baseman said such conversations have not occurred. That’s not abnormal. Such talks commonly occur after a team has addressed its roster needs for the coming year, particularly for players such as Casas who have not reached eligibility for salary arbitration and are years from free agency.
At a time when he is just starting to establishing himself in Boston, Casas expressed little concern about the duration of his time with the Sox. His focus is on narrower issues.
“In terms of the future, or money, or an extension, I haven’t been in any talks with the team. They haven’t voiced any need to want to do anything long term yet,” said Casas. “I don’t try to play that game with myself like, ‘Oh, maybe I could get this, maybe I can get this.’ At the end of the day, if I make $100 million or $1 million or $100,000 or $1, I’m still going to go out there and try to rip somebody’s head off [from the batter’s box]. That’s my goal, and that’s where my head is at.”