12 Red Sox Who Won't Be Back in 2025 After Falling Short of Playoffs Again

3. Triston Casas

Triston Casas probably isn't going anywhere.

After finishing third in the American League Rookie of the Year voting following the 2023 campaign, fans were looking forward to watching first baseman Triston Casas ascend to the next level in 2024. Unfortunately, the 24-year-old lost most of his season when he fractured his rib on a swing in late April. Casas was placed on the injured list on April 21 and returned on Aug. 16.

In only 62 games and 239 plate appearances in 2024, Casas hit .240/.339/.466 with 13 home runs and 31 RBI. In a promising sign for the Red Sox, the slugger finished the season relatively strong – including a three-homer, seven RBI game against the Minnesota Twins on Sept. 22.

Earlier this month, MLB insider Ken Rosenthal suggested that the Red Sox could look to trade Triston Casas this offseason for starting pitching. The Seattle Mariners have often been linked as a trade partner for Boston to upgrade their rotation, with 27-year-old Mariner Logan Gilbert's name often mentioned.

This could have simply been a case of Rosenthal posing hypotheticals, but he is one of the most well-respected and experienced insiders in the industry, so the idea shouldn't be easily dismissed (no matter how bad some Red Sox fans want it to be).

Casas will still be in his pre-arbitration period in 2025, and discussions around a contract extension took place last season without the two sides coming to an agreement. At the time, Casas stated that: “My team, my agency, didn’t seem to think that the dollar amount the Red Sox put forward was the value that [the agents] see in me as a player." The Red Sox have taken the approach of extending young arbitration-eligible players on long-term deals with Ceddanne Rafaela and Brayan Bello.

Despite not arriving at a contract extension last offseason, Casas reiterated his desire to remain in Boston for the long haul. Ahead of Sunday's regular season finale against the Tampa Bay Rays, he revisited the idea of a potential extension when speaking to Rob Bradford on the "Baseball Isn't Boring" podcast:

"I think if I was a front office representative I'd need to see more out of myself, for sure. I'm not expecting any offers that would peak my interest, honestly. I haven't earned it and I don't think it's gonna come in the near future anytime soon."

- Triston Casas to Rob Bradford

Eventually, the Red Sox are going to have to finally shell out some big bucks and extend a player. Casas will assuredly demand higher numbers than either Rafaela or Bello received, and the potential that Boston's front office will balk at that and trade him is concerning to any Red Sox fan who has paid attention to this team over the last few seasons.