WORCESTER — Three months ago, just trying to live was a painful experience for Triston Casas.
After he was sidelined in late April with a strain and torn cartilage in his left rib cage, Casas said he couldn’t sleep, couldn’t walk, could barely even breathe without pain.
“Living was pretty unbearable for about a month,” Casas said. “Originally I could get to about a quarter of a breath until pain, then halfway…it was a month before I was breathing regularly. Getting out of bed, putting on a shirt, bending down [hurt]…it was a grueling process.”
The Red Sox first baseman hit the field for the first time in over three months on Tuesday, beginning a rehab assignment with the WooSox. Casas went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts, a walk and a groundout. He saw three 3-2 counts while serving as DH.
“I’m gonna give it a good push, see what I’ve got. It’s been a long time coming, a lot of emotions for sure getting back to this point,” Casas said. “So many people pushed me to get here and I‘m happy to be feeling good enough to come out here and play.”
Triston Casas played in his first game since late April on a rehab assignment with the WooSox on Tuesday, July 30, 2024. (Katie Morrison-O’Day / MassLive)Katie Morrison-O’Day
Casas says he’s not pain-free yet, and still feels it at times. Swinging a bat has been the last box to check off the list of activities to get through without pain.
“It’s managable,” Casas said of the discomfort. “It’s still in the remodeling phase. Doctors and staff advised me this is part of the process. It’s still healing and getting better but it’s a normal thing and it will get better as time goes on.”
Unsurprisingly, Casas didn’t let his time away from the game go to waste. When he wasn’t giving entertaining Sunday Night Baseball interviews or testing out his interviewing skills at the All-Star Game, Casas was doing what he could to stay in touch with the game, including taking swings “in [his] mind without a bat.”
But he also got to see the game from a different perspective on the bench as the Red Sox fight for a playoff spot.
“Seeing that every day has been my motivation,” Casas said. ”There’s a lot of energy in the clubhouse and it shows up on the field. It’s really exciting, everyone is playing really well. Hopefully I can come back and not miss a beat and help win games.”
Casas spent the bulk of 2022 with the WooSox, which he says feels like it was forever ago. When asked about his memories of when Casas was in Worcester, manager Chad Tracy laughed.
“It’s Triston,” he said with a smile.
“He was probably here at like 9 a.m. and he’ll probably leave at like one in the morning. He’s a special personality… I believe very firmly he probably took 2,000 swings in his mind. That’s just how he is.”
WooSox 11, Bisons 6
Despite losing a few pieces from their usual lineup over the past couple of days, the WooSox bats were hot on Tuesday as they scored 11 times on 11 hits and seven walks.
Nathan Hickey slammed his 10th home run of the season and Mickey Gasper bashed his sixth since joining the WooSox. Mark Contreras reached base four times at the bottom of the lineup with a double, single and two walks. Enmanuel Valdez doubled and drove in a pair of runs, and Nick Sogard went 2-for-5 with two RBIs.
Chase Shugart had a rocky start, giving up four runs on six hits and three walks in three innings of work. Naoyuki Uwasawa went the next three, giving up a pair of runs on two hits and two walks. The back end of the bullpen was strong, with Lucas Luetge tossing two scoreless innings and
Notes
- The WooSox lost three members of their squad within the final hour of the deadline as the Red Sox pulled off a deal to send outfielder Matthew Lugo, reliever Ryan Zeferjahn, first baseman Niko Kavadas – along with Salem Red Sox pitcher Yeferson Vargas — to Los Angeles Angels for reliever Luis Garcia.
Kavadas was an everyday player for Worcester, putting together a .281/.424/.551 slash line in 83 games. The 25-year-old led the WooSox with 17 home runs and 20 doubles.
Lugo was ranked as Boston’s 23rd-best prospect according to Baseball America. The 23-year-old outfielder batted .285 with a .375 on-base percentage, .567 slugging percentage, .942 OPS, 16 homers, 20 doubles, four triples, 54 RBIs, 48 runs, 32 walks, 74 strikeouts and 16 steals in 78 games combined between Double-A Portland and Worcester this season.
Zeferjahn is a reliever who hit 100 mph on the radar gun multiple times this season. The righty posted a 3.52 ERA in 38 innings between Worcester and Portland this season.
- The WooSox also lost a key member of their lineup on Monday with Nick Yorke shipped to Pittsburgh, but they got a young arm in return in Quinn Priestly. Priestly was at Polar on Tuesday, and Tracy said he isn’t sure when exactly the 23-year-old will slot into the rotation, but he could make his Polar Park debut as soon as Wednesday.
What’s Next
The WooSox will continue their series with the Bisons with first pitch at 6:45 p.m.; as of Tuesday night, the starting pitchers for both teams are still to be determined.
