Thread of future Red Sox superstar Triston Casas

Bradfo himself adores the guy and has interviewed him several times, most recently here:

On his one-year anniversary as a big leaguer, Triston Casas sat down with @bradfo to reflect on his journey (that most recently included a game-winning, three-run home run)
Listen: https://t.co/ykkGQCvbEJ pic.twitter.com/BvgXAungqw

— Baseball Isn’t Boring (@BBisntBoring) September 5, 2023

Casas has had the second-biggest turnaround in quality of contact in MLB between April and May, and has the 6th best quality of contact in May overall. pic.twitter.com/uGNRa3kFcV

— Red Sox Stats (@redsoxstats) May 15, 2023

The snackster pic.twitter.com/QUibPtUmHF

— Sox & Shoes (@soxandshoes) May 17, 2023

Casas is a whole vibe. pic.twitter.com/7xfgmfoQUk

— NESN (@NESN) July 18, 2023

Obviously, he's not two different people. Obviously, the behaviours/achievements are not mutually exclusive.

"What if I don't hit by May 3?" - Triston Casas when told of the Dustin Pedroia story on April 24 https://t.co/gMl9X9xL8n

— Rob Bradford (@bradfo) May 4, 2023

Yep, Bradfo backed him up very well with his answer. The red flag was all in the question, and I wondered how pervasive that kinda condescending tone had followed him.

thanks for that! i've been very interested in Casas for his potential and his personality, helped by yourself and this thread. i really hope he continues to live up to that potential - a very easy guy to root for, which means a lot coming from a Blue Jays fan!

I had suspected there was a tonal shift as he proved himself, and agree that it's bs to have to succeed to be accepted as an individual.

Thank you, I think just Tracer Hand and I really follow/pay attention to him, he’s a fun/unusual personality and character for baseball, and if you haven’t read the interview with him towards the beginning of the thread where he cooks for the reporter, it’s a really nice piece and he talks about the nails etc. His Fangraphs interview where he talks about hitting is also a really interesting read, he has a very mature (!?) approach to the plate.

Also, that video of him micd up talking to Braves players is sweet 🥲

Oh yeah that article is paywalled, well not here it isn’t.

I'm going through Casas withdrawal already, I can't deal

don’t

When I started this thread I thought it might be fun to follow this weird kid over the season.

This article with its quotes from/about multiple teammates is so sweet!

JT is A Guy:

Turner, who played with the Orioles and Mets in the early years of his career, credits players such as Nick Markakis, Adam Jones, Ty Wigginton and David Wright for instilling the idea of a mutually respectful relationship between teammates, regardless of age. Rather than following the concept of “making them earn it,” Turner believes in embracing rookies and making sure they’re comfortable.

“I always say I’m like the bumpers on a bowling lane,” Turner said. “I don’t want to interfere with them or stop them from doing anything, I just want to keep them moving in the right direction, make sure they don’t wind up in the gutter.”

Outside of the meticulous gameplan Casas follows, the rookie’s confidence not only in his routine but in the way he carries himself has stuck out to some veterans. Jansen saw that confidence firsthand one night after a game when he and Casas were the only two left in the clubhouse.

As they sat eating in silence, the 23-year-old rookie turned to a 35-year-old Jansen and asked, “Hey, do you have a problem with me?”

“He kind of called me out,” Jansen said. “Not called me out, but was like … ‘I have a sense that you don’t like me.’”

Though Casas noted that techniques such as grounding have been “in the works long before (he) came on this earth,”

not only have his teammates accepted Casas’ routine, some have tested it for themselves. Among those players who have joined Casas in the grass pregame? Devers, fellow rookie Yoshida and Nick Pivetta.

“I think you might see a couple guys over the next couple years do it,” Casas said. “I feel like I'll be here for a while, so I'll definitely keep doing it.”

Tracer Hand, this is the Fred Lynn interview.

“It was nice to see somebody in the Major Leagues make an adjustment, because I see a ton of them just do the same thing over, and over, and over,” the nine-time All-Star said with a chuckle.

“Back then, we didn’t even see what we were hitting until Sunday when the averages came out,” Lynn recalled of having to get the newspaper just to know how everyone was faring. “It was easy to just play the game and not be overwhelmed by all the other stuff. Today’s players, they can’t do that. I don’t know how they do it, to be honest, because they can’t get away from all that chatter.”

he is unreal

Brennan Bernardino, Triston Casas, Chris Murphy, and Brandon Walter spreading holiday cheer with the 2023 Holiday Caravan! pic.twitter.com/AKF1yH9HP3

— Red Sox (@RedSox) December 7, 2023

⚠️Warning⚠️

The contents of this video are HOT. pic.twitter.com/nAUgjmBrey

— Red Sox (@RedSox) December 7, 2023

DUDE

His laugh at the end 💀💀💀💀

He’s so sweet

https://archive.is/hXmnm

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.”

this guy

he’s back

Red Sox' Triston Casas turned 24 on Monday and enjoyed a big b-day dinner courtesy of his dad.
“My dad went to my favorite butchery shop in Miami and he got me an Australian Wagyu Tomahawk, then a separate Japanese A5 Wagyu Ribeye. So I had both of those for the birthday dinner"

— Christopher Smith (@SmittyOnMLB) January 17, 2024

Him! Posted in hope a passing FrancisF might see this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iEm7ZBXhrY

There are so many shithead comments online like Ted Williams would nEvEr and bro, Teddy Ballgame wouldn’t even admit he had a Mexican mother until decades past retirement. It’s ok for players to be themselves now.

Joe Sheehan has him as the 5th best 1st-baseman in the game, behind Freddie Freeman, Matt Olson, Bryce Harper and Vladdy Jr

gyac thinks he might be better than Vladdy Jr and all I have to say about that is, it'll be interesting to watch :)

I mean maybe?????

What exactly did Sheehan say? I remember he was annoyed with some Sox fan who was complaining about Casas having a low average in May or something, after he’d started hitting, but before it showed up in his numbers. Sheehan: do Red Sox fans bother watching the games?

lol he basically just pasted what he wrote before
--
I wrote this in an email May 31, 2023 and published it in a mailbag June 21:

Casas was hideous in April, but in May he’s at .257/.338/.429 after last night’s 0-for-5. That’s also not great, but it’s progress. The K/BB is 22/9 and the K rate is 28%, not unreasonable for the profile. May xBA is .264, xSLG is .560.

I’d have understood these questions a month ago. It’s weird to get them when he’s basically playing about as you’d expect. He’s absolutely earned some patience.

Casas hit .299/.397/.556 from June 1 through the end of the season.
--

🤞🏻 for a good healthy second season (and that his hair grows back ASAP)

It’s good that Florida man wears sunscreen, but does he seriously not understand that you’re supposed to rub it in.

https://i.postimg.cc/7Z0rDWGr/IMG-6515.png

https://www.mlb.com/app/atbat/video/triston-casas-joins-mlb-tonight

Also, I love Jake Peavy so much.

"What part of that [pregame breakfast] makes you feel light for the game?"

Triston Casas: "The trip to the bathroom right before the game. That'll make me feel light. I think it's the chia seeds and flax seeds running right through me. That's the light part." pic.twitter.com/zxgpOt2wEt

— Sox & Shoes (@soxandshoes) March 7, 2024

https://www.sfgate.com/athletics/article/sunbather-oakland-coliseum-triston-casas-routine-19380171.php

lol. I assume that’s an April Fool’s Day headline cos Jessica Kleinschmidt the A’s reporter (who is great!) posted it on her Twitter.

Triston Casas made it to Oakland just fine: pic.twitter.com/dBGgUxmCcl

— Jessica Kleinschmidt (@KleinschmidtJD) April 1, 2024

Where does outfield yoga rank amongst pregame routines? #RedSox pic.twitter.com/nHR8NMJZ02

— NESN (@NESN) March 30, 2024

Casas is so bored at dh he’s playing first from the bullpen lol pic.twitter.com/C9m6bYQeRK

— CasasTruther (@CasasTruther36) April 3, 2024

https://www.masslive.com/redsox/2024/04/meet-the-river-monster-the-red-sox-new-on-base-celebration-for-2024.html

At some point shortly before the season on the team plane, a group of veterans were playing poker on the back of the team charter when, after someone won a hand with a favorable river card (the fifth and final community card in a flop game), gestured like a monster and said the “River Monster” had come for one of his teammates.

“It’s something to do with poker,” said first baseman Triston Casas. “I don’t play but apparently there’s something called the ‘river.’ Sometimes it frustrates players when something happens there that they lose and the other person wins. Somebody made that gesture when they were playing one day. I wasn’t there.”

…“The back of the plane card game got it going, so (Nick) Pivetta and Raffy (Devers) were doing it,” Casas said. “Someone was like, ‘I’m doing that when I get on first base.

“I don’t know how there can be a river in a card game. Those run through land, with water. I don’t understand.”

He’s an idiot i love him

Thanks I hate this

The #RedSox today placed 1B Triston Casas on the 10-Day Injured List with a left rib strain.

To fill Casas’ spot on the active roster, the club recalled C Tyler Heineman from Triple-A Worcester.

— Red Sox (@RedSox) April 21, 2024

pic.twitter.com/QpYtSindyX

— Red (@SurvivingGrady) April 18, 2024

Cause of injury: big

Triston Casas first felt the discomfort after a swing against Ben Lively during last Wednesday’s shutout of the Cleveland Guardians at Fenway Park. The Red Sox first baseman thought it was an abdominal issue, but after trying to tough it out for a few days it eventually became clear this wasn’t an injury he could play through.

Now Casas is likely to miss several months with what the club described as a rib fracture, though after a series of examinations he likened to an anatomy lesson, Casas explained his injury is actually a bit more complex than a simple bone break.

“No ribs were fractured, it’s not a bone thing, it’s more of a cartilage thing,” Casas said in the Red Sox clubhouse Friday afternoon. “So there’s the rib cage and there’s the sternum, and there are pieces of cartilage that connect the two, and that’s what was torn.”

Casas said he was told by the doctors that his injury is much more common in football and hockey players, and he was asked if he’d been involved in any collisions that would merit some pain in his midsection. When he told them no, the doctors chalked it up to his being so big and rotating so fast so many times when he swings that his body couldn’t hold up.

“They said anywhere from three weeks to six weeks to nine weeks, they don’t know, it’s just depending on how my body is feeling,” Casas said. “Right now I’m still in pain to breathe, my lungs are still hitting my midsection. I’m still getting to like 75% capacity without pain, so the first step is to feel good breathing before I can move to cardio and then I’ll move into more anaerobic exercises and progress as I go there.”

GET WELL SOON, KING

Alex Cora said Triston Casas wanted to stay in baseball shape. He’s still about a month away from being eligible to return from the 60-day IL, but he’s been in the back of the dugout locked in on the timing of just about every pitch tonight…keeping things sharp @NESN pic.twitter.com/KWvM5cGU1h

— Jahmai Webster (@WebsterOnTV) May 15, 2024

This was pretty amazing too

Triston Casas must really miss playing. He’s been standing in the batter’s box for over 10 minutes. pic.twitter.com/xOBtdsXlO5

— Gabrielle Starr (@gfstarr1) May 12, 2024

I see that and I raise you:

Since he had the intial tweet about it, the show asked @bradfo about what the "uniquely interesting" Tristan Casas was up to at Fenway yesterday. pic.twitter.com/p5CJOPkbXP

— Jones & Mego with Arcand (@JonesandMego) May 14, 2024

Flemming was waxing lyrical for Casas in the early innings last night, saying it was becoming increasingly clear how much the Sox miss his bat, and beyond that the "intangibles" he brings (I think that was the word he used). Casas brings out the mysticism in people and I love it

Flemming could be a contributor to this thread, he loves him THAT much

Wait did you actually stay up and watch the whole game? You lunatic

Lol no this was in like inning 2 or 3!

I watch in hope of a big early inning that will put my mind at ease

You should know by now you can’t predict the mid sox

Oof

Yappin' with Triston. pic.twitter.com/QvrnNdfVJt

— Red Sox (@RedSox) June 17, 2024

Triston Casas casually dropping a story on national TV about his dad getting arrested during his little league game pic.twitter.com/WIk6ywUjsA

— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) June 17, 2024

Kenley Janson sent Brayan Bello out to tell Triston Casas to give up the microphone cause he's talking way too much😂

🎥: @SNBonESPN pic.twitter.com/4zW7EistFK

— ᴄʜᴀsᴇ🏴‍☠️ (@BolieveInNix) June 17, 2024

This was an all-timer of a back-and-forth with Casas. Here's the exchange in its entirety. https://t.co/EiMq4cev6u pic.twitter.com/cK98v9ihLh

— Mac Cerullo (@MacCerullo) June 26, 2024

oh my god

He reminds me of Manny, who couldn’t wait to get into bed so that he could start doing batting practice in his dreams

Manny said drinking Red Bull gave him the energy to take batting practice in his dreams longer

xp imagine not liking this guy

Soon.

Back like he never left. pic.twitter.com/0Sp3sva7U4

— Worcester Red Sox (@WooSox) July 30, 2024

Eddy Alvarez, WooSox Clubhouse News. pic.twitter.com/K38PAnay0b

— Worcester Red Sox (@WooSox) July 30, 2024

One of the few bright spots on this team since he came back. Posting decent numbers despite looking lost at the plate on occasion - clearly nowhere near 100%. .342/.413/.512 with an OPS of .925. Sad to think about what this season could have been for him.

if he’s a 6-7 WAR player then the sox are in the wild card

I mean he’s a first baseman so I don’t know that that’s really achievable? Vladimir Guerrero Jr has 4.5 according to Fangraphs & probably finishes with at least one more unless he stops hitting in September. Even guys having great seasons like Freddie Freeman & Christian Walker haven’t cracked 4. (Actually checked Bryce Harper cos he was slumping recently & he’s 3.8, which is interesting as he’s having a relative down year).

Regardless it’s great to see what he’s produced already & this team is depressing as fuck but who knows what happens if he goes off in September? They should be prioritising his extension in the offseason.