It’ll still ‘be a while’ before Red Sox’ Triston Casas begins rehab assignment

Casas has been out since April 21 due to a torn cartilage in his rib cage.

Triston Casas had hoped to return to the Red Sox’ lineup in early July, but he’s still on the injured list. He’ll likely be there for a bit longer, too.

Alex Cora said that the injured first baseman is “still far” from a return and starting his rehab assignment.

“It will be a while,” the Red Sox manager told reporters on when Casas could begin his rehab assignment.

Casas has been out since April 21, when he tore cartilage in his rib cage on a swing during a game against the Pirates. The Red Sox were concerned Casas would be out for quite some time following the injury, putting him on the 60-day injured list though the team wouldn’t give a timeline for him to return.

Meanwhile, Casas began circling possible return dates after a month on the injured list. He initially listed a date in late June to return but then pushed it back to July 2, when the Red Sox began a three-game series in Miami.

Of course, Casas wasn’t on the diamond for that series against the Marlins. However, he’s still getting some work in. He’s been hitting off a Tee and taking soft toss swings.

Casas has told others that he feels close to 100 percent, Cora shared. But he hasn’t faced live pitching or taken batting practice, two necessary steps for a return, and is still feeling a bit of pain on his side.

Cora wouldn’t say how much longer the Red Sox are anticipating to be without Casas for, but they’re planning for him to return at some point this season.

“I just talked to players and we’re going to be locked into today,” Cora said. “The other stuff is out of our hands. Of course, we have to know where players are at physically. But to start thinking 12 days from now or 15 days from now, that’s not the way we’re doing it. I [have to] be consistent with the message. And that’s what we’re going to try to do.

“I feel he’s going to be a part of this. When? We don’t know yet.”

The Red Sox had some struggles replacing Casas’s production in the lineup at first base for several weeks following his injury. Garrett Cooper and Dom Smith were picked up to split duties, with the former struggling to the point that he was designated for assignment in June.

Smith has been a bit better as of late though. He’s hitting .316 with a .934 OPS, two homers, and six RBIs in 13 games in July. Romy Gonzalez has also chipped in at first base recently, getting a few big hits in the eight games he’s played at first.

But neither compare to Casas. It was around this time last year that Casas emerged as one of the top hitting first basemen in baseball, ending the 2023 season on a strong note. He’s hit .289 with a .952 OPS, 18 homers, and 43 RBIs in his last 70 games.