The Boston Red Sox's offense has been hot of late, though one infielder is running out of time to prove his worth regardless.
Triston Casas was the de facto power bat for the Red Sox after J.D. Martinez. Once he left, the former #1 Red Sox prospect (16th overall in MLB in 2022) was set to start his legacy as the first baseman of the future.
He developed into a great player for Boston in 2023. 24 home runs, a .263 batting average, and an OPS of .856. However, he suffered a torn cartilage after getting hit by a pitch, which limited him to only 63 games in 2023. It was a key season that stalled out his development, so 2024 was the season of redemption for Casas.
That wouldn't come to pass. Batting .182 with just 3 HRs and an OPS of .580 in 29 games was a huge warning sign. He then suffered a torn patellar tendon in his right knee, which effectively ended his 2025 season. While the Red Sox's bats were inconsistent, Casas was consistently terrible. His hard-hit rate dipped from last year, with only an 87.6 average and a 9.7% barrel rate. These were both down from his career norms (90.0 exit velo & 12.2% barrel rate).
His plate discipline has slipped hard as well. The swing rate went from around 44% in his first two full seasons (2023-2024) to 51% this year. He chases way too much, and that's always been a key part of his game, sadly.
This also has a reflection on how he's swinging, so his stance could be an issue as well. Some of the problems are his being less compact and being longer to the ball. There's more length in his hand path this season, and he is wrapping the bat behind his head a little more, taking a bigger load. That longer path was making him late on good fastballs in the middle of the zone and is on top of the ball, pulling groundballs towards first base. His groundball percentage had spiked from around 40% last year to over 50% in April of 2025.
Casas naturally has a tall stance, but in 2024, he was better at sinking into his legs as he started his swing, much like a little squat. This year, however, he was much taller through contact, which cost him both some bat speed and lift on the ball, and thus, leading him to get softer contact on baseballs.
He's trying to generate power and is opening up too early with his front hip. This takes the bat off the plane early and makes it hard to square up on breaking pitches away. It results in more weak fly balls and is more prone to pop-ups.
While many are calling him a bust, it's reasonable. He's entering his age-26 season now, and has been an injury-riddled mess these last couple of years, and the prospects in the system, among depth pieces acquired this year as well, are doing well in his place. He's almost a foot out the door, but there's a way to get him back to what he's supposed to be and save his career.
How Triston Casas Can Improve in 2026 and Beyond
As for right now, Casas needs to focus on rehabbing for next season. His recovery is key to getting himself back to full strength. It's hard on some players, especially Casas, but if he uses every opportunity he can, he can not only get better but also improve his well-being in due time.
Casas needs to rebuild himself, hit the weights, and get into shape. Jarren Duran spoke on the Section 10 Podcast in late June about how he emphasized more on his own personal workouts than what the team suggested to him, and it became the best decision of his life. That can happen to Triston as well if he's dedicated.
Next, he should recalibrate his approach at the plate. Throughout his entire career, he's lacked such discipline and, therefore, has chased pitches everywhere out of the zone. Whether that's caused by anxiousness or just getting fooled by pitches is to be determined.
He needs to stick to pitches in the strike zone and work the counts. To do that, he'll need to just practice taking pitches in the cage. An old-school way of doing it is to have a box (where the catcher may be) and have someone or a machine throw to him. He also will need to refine his swing paths by bettering his timing and bat-plane control. It'll help boost hard contact again.
Triston needs to fix that stance a bit, as well. He has to keep his hands quiet with fewer wraps behind his head. He has to be short to the ball instead of a big, long sweep. One drill could be one-handed tee work, which will train his direct bat path.
Another thing to adjust his stance is to recommit to getting into his legs. He was doing much better in 2024 when he into his stance when he was loading. A drill for that is the heel tap or toe tap timing drills to feel his lower body and find a rhythm. This will result in a strong base, driving through the ball.
He has to stay closed longer as well, as this year resulted in him being more open, and it didn't work for him. He has to keep his front hip closed and the chest facing the plate longer before rotating. He should take opposite-field BP and maybe some inside-out tee work. As a result, this will cover the outer third of the zone.
Next, the mental game. He's trying to do too much with the baseball, and even as a pro, it's an easy habit to get. Some clarity is needed, and the message is to ease off homer expectations and focus on the process rather than the outcomes. Emphasizing staying through the middle of the field helps, and he should trust that the backspin on pitches and his own strength will still create homers without forcing them.
It's not all about the home runs, and he should aim to just get on base and drive in runs situationally. He's a big guy, about 6-foot-4 and weighing almost 250 lbs. He should use that size to his advantage, and use that bat speed to not just pull the ball to right field, but push it to the opposite side as well. This will increase line drives and pull coverage.
Triston Casas has a lot to work on, but it's still doable. Once he hopefully has a full recovery from surgery, there is no doubt that he will be doing some, if not most, of these things as soon as possible. These are just fundamentals from growing up in the baseball world, along with feedback from coaches and parents. It's like the making of a movie: A player who's slumping has to go back to his roots to dig deeper into finding out what's wrong. Casas needs to do this and find what belongs to him and nobody else. When he does this, he'll no doubt be one of the most feared hitters in baseball.