Triston Casas Posts Cryptic Message on Instagram

[Matthew Lenz]

After a season where the Boston Red Sox fell short of expectations, they've had a very busy start to the offseason with option decisions. These decisions have started to paint the picture of what the 2025-2026 offseason may hold and what needs to be done to the roster to meet their goals for next season.

One of the bigger questions they're tasked with is figuring out the plans at first base. After a devastating knee injury to Triston Casas, first base was a bit of a merry-go-round with Nathaniel Lowe and Romy Gonzalez getting a bulk of the reps in the second half of the season. While both players are controllable in 2026, Casas is hoping to be healthy by the time Spring Training rolls around. However, at the end of the season, in an interview with Tim Healey of the Boston Globe, Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow was non-committal to Casas's future, stating, "I don’t think it makes a ton of sense on October 6 to say someone is or isn’t our first baseman. We’ll see how things play out..."

Ultimately, it's those comments that may have prompted the cryptic message from Casas:

Casas, who was struggling at the plate prior to his injury, is projected for a very team-friendly $1.7 million salary in his first year of arbitration.

What do you think he means in his Instagram post? Should the Red Sox move on from him? Join the conversation in the comments!

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[Hitch]

He's a strange cat is Casas. He's worth virtually nothing in trade value right now, so we keep him and get him healthy, see what he can do. But in time, I think he's a lock to get traded. This is somewhat guesswork, but he seems a rather isolated/polarising figure in the club house. See if he can build his value and trade away,

[notin]

Tender Casas.  Tender Houck.   
 

Why do you think Casas is polarizing? He does seem a little goofy, but that’s not necessarily bad.  Plus it probably helps that he seems to be fluent (or close to it) in Spanish.
 

Really the only non-tenders should be Lowe, Grissom and maybe Winckowski…

[moonslav59]

35 minutes ago, notin said:

Tender Casas.  Tender Houck.   
 

Why do you think Casas is polarizing? He does seem a little goofy, but that’s not necessarily bad.  Plus it probably helps that he seems to be fluent (or close to it) in Spanish.
 

Really the only non-tenders should be Lowe, Grissom and maybe Winckowski…

I'd keep Wink over Guerrero, but with Wink, Criswell and Moran out of options, maybe Wink gets the pink slip.

[mvp 78]

I saw this last night and it seemed like it's in regards to his injury and the expectations of him coming back. 

I like his personality. Baseball players are better when they are a little weird. 

[drewski6]

I have 0 issue with Casas personality.  My issues are related to his speed, athleticism and approach at the plate.  You can be too patient , and he is.

[drewski6]

If he hit the gym and swung the bat more, he'd be way better and more likely to stay healthy.

[mvp 78]

56 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

I have 0 issue with Casas personality.  My issues are related to his speed, athleticism and approach at the plate.  You can be too patient , and he is.

Players above 28% called third strikes (league av is 23.5 FWIW)

Campbell 36

Casas 37 (40 in 24, 27 in 23 - best season, 40 in 22)

Sogard 42

Eaton 42

 

[drewski6]

18 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Players above 28% (league av is 23.5 FWIW)

Campbell 36

Casas 37 (40 in 24, 27 in 23 - best season, 40 in 22)

Sogard 42

Eaton 42

 

what is this percentage?

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

Casas is talking about his rehab and offseason training program. Nutrition is a big part of it and he eats a lot of salmon.

It's good that he aspires to transparency, but when it comes to farmed fish, it's hard to determine if they're raised on organic cereals or processed plankton.

The guy at Whole Foods did tell me they don't get their color from Orange Dye #9, but injections of carrot juice...

[mvp 78]

30 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

what is this percentage?

Sorry, I edited out a sentence. It's called 3rd strike percentage. The amount of strike outs where a batter doesn't swing.

[mvp 78]

8 minutes ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

Casas is talking about his rehab and offseason training program. Nutrition is a big part of it and he eats a lot of salmon.

It's good that he aspires to transparency, but when it comes to farmed fish, it's hard to determine if they're raised on organic cereals or processed plankton.

The guy at Whole Foods did tell me they don't get their color from Orange Dye #9, but injections of carrot juice...

Mercury poisoning. I bet he's been infected by the Greaseman's Tuna Fish Song. 

[notin]

5 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Mercury poisoning. I bet he's been infected by the Greaseman's Tuna Fish Song. 

And not by Barnes & Barnes enchanting melody “Fish Heads”?

And who knew one of the Barnes’s in that group was none other than former “Lost in Space” child actor Billy Mumy? (Truth)

[drewski6]

2 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Sorry, I edited out a sentence. It's called 3rd strike percentage. The amount of strike outs where a batter doesn't swing.

So % of his k's that were looking?  And when its cut down (like 2023), hes better? so we agree?

The stat may be indicative but it doesnt even tell the whole story. He's awful on the basepaths, so that matters if hes up there looking for a walk.  His contributions towards winning when hes on first base are obvs less than if its Eaton or Hammy standing at 1b.  The dudes who should be looking to walk should be #7,8,9 hitters and dudes who can fly.  Also, if Casas is swinging more , hes also putting the ball in play earlier in the count, so we dont even get to the k or bb, both of which are disappointing outcomes for him.

Coming up, he was billed as mr strike zone. mr knows the strike zone better than the umpire.  But if hes not looking to swing, it does nothing for me.  I dont want him clogging the basepaths.  If hes looking to swing and keyholing = great!  

He should be up there looking for his pitch. One he can drive. So if his eye is helping him not swing on tricky sinkers = great. Go 0-1 if its a well executed sinker. Def.  But the point needs to be because thats not the most driveable pitch you are going to see. He should be hunting and using his good eye to hunt. Not using his eye to draw walks.

Its a mindset more than anything.  When Im not seeing the ball well in the show I take more walks.  Cuz im trying to max my freebies.  But when Im on fire, Im smoking the gap or putting it over the ball hitter after hitter.  And im taking pitches because i know im going to murder one, and im choosing to pass on that pitch because i think the next one is going to be more murderable.  Im using pitch recognition, but Im hunting.  And if I have a good hitter up there, and im on fire, im disappointed with a walk. CONFIDENCE!!!!

A walk is a disappointing at-bat for casas.  This is a mindset he needs to develop.

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

As I typed "tiny purple fishes" my screen was abruptly interrupted by an AI bot:

""Tiny purple fish" can refer to several things, most commonly a type of aquarium fish like the purple emperor tetra, the galactic purple longfin tetra, or a purple dottyback. It could also be a misunderstanding of the term, such as a literal interpretation of "fish needs a bicycle" or the song "Tales of Brave Ulysess" by Cream... 

Listen, AI bot, that was no misunderstanding (acid in the Sixties was the truth). When I asked about a remake for this century, AI bot and his robot band came up with this: "Tiny microplastics run laughing through your reverse osmosis system"

[mvp 78]

14 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

So % of his k's that were looking?  And when its cut down (like 2023), hes better? so we agree?

Coming up, he was billed as mr strike zone. mr knows the strike zone better than the umpire.  But if hes not looking to swing, it does nothing for me. 

He should be up there looking for his pitch. One he can drive. 

I don't mind a walk too much, but he's definitely too passive at the plate. If there's a pitch in the zone, he needs to look to hammer it early. If it's borderline with 2 strikes, he needs to completely change his approach. The whole idea of protecting the plate with 2 strikes and fouling a pitch off has been removed from the game.

[drewski6]

40 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

I don't mind a walk too much, but he's definitely too passive at the plate. If there's a pitch in the zone, he needs to look to hammer it early. If it's borderline with 2 strikes, he needs to completely change his approach. The whole idea of protecting the plate with 2 strikes and fouling a pitch off has been removed from the game.

Exactly.

[moonslav59]

You gotta look at how many times he takes ball 4, as well.

[mvp 78]

31 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

You gotta look at how many times he takes ball 4, as well.

9.8% (league av is 8.2%) so not an absurdly high amount. It's lower than Devers, Anthony, Lowe, Refsnyder, Campbell and Bregman. About the same as Abreu. He's a guy who thinks he knows the k zone better than he actually does.

[moonslav59]

9 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

9.8% (league av is 8.2%) so not an absurdly high amount. It's lower than Devers, Anthony, Lowe, Refsnyder, Campbell and Bregman. About the same as Abreu. He's a guy who thinks he knows the k zone better than he actually does.

9.8 in 2025? Toss that out.

2022-2025 BB% Sox leaders (400+ PAs)

13.7 Casas (5th in K%)

11.2 O'Neill (2nd in K%)

10.7 Refsnyder & Devers

10.3 Bregman

9.4 Abreu

How about BB/K?

0.73 Bregman

0.51 Casas & Devers

0.49 Verdugo

0.48 Bogey

650+ PAs OBP:

.364 Refsnyder (5th in SLG)

.361 Devers (1st in SLG)

.348 Casas (4th in SLG)

.337 Masa (6th in SLG)

.333 Duran (3rd in SLG)

 

[drewski6]

15 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

9.8 in 2025? Toss that out.

2022-2025 BB% Sox leaders (400+ PAs)

13.7 Casas (5th in K%)

11.2 O'Neill (2nd in K%)

10.7 Refsnyder & Devers

10.3 Bregman

9.4 Abreu

How about BB/K?

0.73 Bregman

0.51 Casas & Devers

0.49 Verdugo

0.48 Bogey

650+ PAs OBP:

.364 Refsnyder (5th in SLG)

.361 Devers (1st in SLG)

.348 Casas (4th in SLG)

.337 Masa (6th in SLG)

.333 Duran (3rd in SLG)

 

In a conversation about how he's too passive and slow, a walk isnt a good outcome either.  Its not like hes hitting in front of a masher.

[drewski6]

Casas should rarely get to a point where he has 3 balls or 2 strikes on him to draw a walk or k. He should be jumping on the first thing straight. Only time he should take a walk is if none of the pitches are close to the zone.

I dont want slowpoke jones standing at first.  Extra-base hit or k.

[drewski6]

I draw walks when im slumping.  When Im hot, I dont want a walk. Im disappointed with a walk. I want an extra base hit.

[moonslav59]

33 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

In a conversation about how he's too passive and slow, a walk isnt a good outcome either.  Its not like hes hitting in front of a masher.

I don't care hor slow his home run trot is, or how long it takes him to get to 1B on a BB.

I do care about his awful defense, but I'd like to get him to DH somehow, someway, sometime.

[drewski6]

11 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

I don't care hor slow his home run trot is, or how long it takes him to get to 1B on a BB.

I do care about his awful defense, but I'd like to get him to DH somehow, someway, sometime.

The conversation that was already in progress that you are joining are about how we agree that their flaws in his hitting approach and he should look to swing more.

I obviously dont care how long it takes him to get to 1b after a bb, but i care about how long it takes him to get to 2b when he is at 1b and the ball is put in play.

[harmony]

Did the 2025 Red Sox fall short of expectations?

The Sox won 89 games after FanGraphs projected the Sox with 84.5 wins.

Boston fans should appreciate the postseason berth and the first winning Red Sox season since 2021.

[drewski6]

6 minutes ago, harmony said:

Did the 2025 Red Sox fall short of expectations?

The Sox won 89 games after FanGraphs projected the Sox with 84.5 wins.

Boston fans should appreciate the postseason berth and the first winning Red Sox season since 2021.

I def appreciated it.  The point of baseball is to a viewer is to have fun watching and last season was fun.

But right now, im curious to see what they do in the offseason, and I have my opinions on what they should do and one of those things is to move forward without penciling Casas into a starting role.  He needs to earn his way back.  And unlike many, my top beef with him isnt his d, although it is a beef.

Im new school.  New school says you jump on fastballs.

[moonslav59]

18 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

The conversation that was already in progress that you are joining are about how we agree that their flaws in his hitting approach and he should look to swing more.

I obviously dont care how long it takes him to get to 1b after a bb, but i care about how long it takes him to get to 2b when he is at 1b and the ball is put in play.

I don't care about changing his approach. I think it has worked well, so don't tinker with it. He gets on base and hits bombs more often than anyone on our roster. Nuff said. Find a new subject... (LOL)

It's like the guys who railed against Devers for swinging at low and outside breaking balls and thought he needed to change his approach, or that nutcase guy who wanted Rafaela to....  ooops!

[Behindenemylines]

10 hours ago, Matthew Lenz said:

After a season where the Boston Red Sox fell short of expectations, they've had a very busy start to the offseason with option decisions. These decisions have started to paint the picture of what the 2025-2026 offseason may hold and what needs to be done to the roster to meet their goals for next season.

One of the bigger questions they're tasked with is figuring out the plans at first base. After a devastating knee injury to Triston Casas, first base was a bit of a merry-go-round with Nathaniel Lowe and Romy Gonzalez getting a bulk of the reps in the second half of the season. While both players are controllable in 2026, Casas is hoping to be healthy by the time Spring Training rolls around. However, at the end of the season, in an interview with Tim Healey of the Boston Globe, Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow was non-committal to Casas's future, stating, "I don’t think it makes a ton of sense on October 6 to say someone is or isn’t our first baseman. We’ll see how things play out..."

Ultimately, it's those comments that may have prompted the cryptic message from Casas:

Casas, who was struggling at the plate prior to his injury, is projected for a very team-friendly $1.7 million salary in his first year of arbitration.

What do you think he means in his Instagram post? Should the Red Sox move on from him? Join the conversation in the comments!

 

View full rumor

 

There is no garentee that he will be ready to go at the beginning of next season. To trade him at this point he has little value. I can see where he starts his season  with Woo Sox and makes it to Boston when ready. Next season is his last chance to show Sox he is the 1B of the future. If healthy that is added power without spending or giving up a lot in a trade.

[moonslav59]

People are free to talk about anything and everything, but Casas will NOT be traded, this winter.

Zero chance.