Triston Casas Posts Cryptic Message on Instagram

[mvp 78]

17 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

9.8 in 2025? Toss that out.

No.

[drewski6]

13 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

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

Zero chance.

I still dont like his approach, but agreed.  I guess one thing about having a lousy approach is that its fixable.  Id give him 1m in incentives if he hits 35HR, so he looks for pitches he can deposit over the wall

Still want him to be selective, but I want his headspace to be 1-0 count, thats a low-outside sinker, Ill take it for a strike because i dont think its the meatiest meatball ill see this at-bat, so ill pass and go after the next pitch

Vs

I like to draw-out at-bats, foul pitches off until I get 4 walks on me because its 20 years ago and chasing OBP is still current philosophy (its not). Ill even take a strike one.

Take your walk if you have to, but he should go up there with the mindset that a walk is disappointing.

[drewski6]

You need to go into an at-bat with confidence.  Going up there trying to work a walk isnt exactly "alpha" nor is it aggressive.

[moonslav59]

29 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

I still dont like his approach, but agreed.  I guess one thing about having a lousy approach is that its fixable.  Id give him 1m in incentives if he hits 35HR, so he looks for pitches he can deposit over the wall

Still want him to be selective, but I want his headspace to be 1-0 count, thats a low-outside sinker, Ill take it for a strike because i dont think its the meatiest meatball ill see this at-bat, so ill pass and go after the next pitch

Vs

I like to draw-out at-bats, foul pitches off until I get 4 walks on me because its 20 years ago and chasing OBP is still current philosophy (its not). Ill even take a strike one.

Take your walk if you have to, but he should go up there with the mindset that a walk is disappointing.

YOu make good points, but I actually like his approach.

I hate his D. I hate is baserunning. I like his approach. I loved his results, until the 4 weeks to start 2025.

[Hitch]

On 11/5/2025 at 3:35 PM, 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…

Just a hunch, watching him with teammates, watching his interactions on the documentary. I've mentioned a few times you shouldn't necessarily trust what you see on these programs, so I realise I'm possibly talking out of my ass here and going against my own advice, but something just feels off to me. 

It feels more than just that he's a bit different, but all guesswork.

[JoeBrady]

On 11/5/2025 at 1:39 PM, 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.

That cuts both ways.  I've seen way too many guys swing at a ball two inches off the plate.  Probably a lot more guys swinging at obvious balls than obvious strikes.

[JoeBrady]

A walk is almost never a bad outcome.  IMO, the two most important attributes for a hitter are:

1-Never swing at a ball.

2-If you're ahead in the count, don't swing at strikes you can't hit.  I don't know how often I see a hitter leaning over to swing at a 1-0 ball low and outside.  Even if it's a strike, so what?

[Kimmi]

On 11/5/2025 at 3:46 PM, 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.

I think he does know the strike zone pretty well.  He had a down year offensively last year.  Prior to that, he showed pretty good recognition of the zone.

I would like to see him back as our starting first baseman next year.  I think that offensively, he has very good power potential, but I do acknowledge that he is by no means a guarantee of anything.

[Kimmi]

On 11/5/2025 at 4:19 PM, 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.

A walk is a better outcome than an out, regardless of how slow he is.

[Kimmi]

On 11/5/2025 at 5:27 PM, moonslav59 said:

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!

In his small sample size of 2025, Casas' percentage of first pitch swinging , the percentage of strikes that he swung at, and the percentage of pitches that he swung at were all higher than any other year of his major league career.  Also, his pitches per plate appearance this year was his lowest.  I'm not sure that he was being too passive this year.

Perhaps he was trying to be more aggressive, which didn't seem to suit him that well.  IMO, he knows the strike zone well AND he's a good hitter.  Leave him alone and let him do his thing.

[Kimmi]

4 hours ago, Hitch said:

Just a hunch, watching him with teammates, watching his interactions on the documentary. I've mentioned a few times you shouldn't necessarily trust what you see on these programs, so I realise I'm possibly talking out of my ass here and going against my own advice, but something just feels off to me. 

It feels more than just that he's a bit different, but all guesswork.

I remember a game last year in which Casas had a walk off hit.  During his post-game interview with Jahmai, Casas kept looking over his shoulder for the Gatorade bath which never came.  I thought it was a little strange that    1.  Casas kept looking for it, like he was really wanting the appreciation from his teammates, and   2.  that it never came.    I don't know if it means anything or not, but yes, I can see your point.

At any rate, I'm a Casas fan.

[Kimmi]

48 minutes ago, JoeBrady said:

A walk is almost never a bad outcome.  IMO, the two most important attributes for a hitter are:

1-Never swing at a ball.

2-If you're ahead in the count, don't swing at strikes you can't hit.  I don't know how often I see a hitter leaning over to swing at a 1-0 ball low and outside.  Even if it's a strike, so what?

It seems like walking a batter to set up a double play or to set up a force at any base might be a good idea.  Sometimes it works out.  It also seems like intentionally walking someone like Shohei to get to a weaker hitter might be a good idea.  Sometimes that works out.

All that said, there is no base/out situation in which having an additional baserunner results in fewer runs being scored, according to the run expectancy matrix.

A walk is always a better outcome than an out.

[illinoisredsox]

46 minutes ago, Kimmi said:

A walk is a better outcome than an out, regardless of how slow he is.

Not if said out drives home a run.

[moonslav59]

1 hour ago, Kimmi said:

I think he does know the strike zone pretty well.  He had a down year offensively last year.  Prior to that, he showed pretty good recognition of the zone.

I would like to see him back as our starting first baseman next year.  I think that offensively, he has very good power potential, but I do acknowledge that he is by no means a guarantee of anything.

I know I'm biased, and there is no reason for me to favor Casas over any other Sox player, but I think the umps screw him over more than anyone else on the team with balls and strikes calls.

Of course, he takes more pitches than anyone else, so that gives more opportunities, but I still think he got robbed too often.

[mvp 78]

14 hours ago, JoeBrady said:

That cuts both ways.  I've seen way too many guys swing at a ball two inches off the plate.  Probably a lot more guys swinging at obvious balls than obvious strikes.

His best season when he was more aggressive at the plate and struck out looking less. 

[Old Red]

12 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

I know I'm biased, and there is no reason for me to favor Casas over any other Sox player, but I think the umps screw him over more than anyone else on the team with balls and strikes calls.

Of course, he takes more pitches than anyone else, so that gives more opportunities, but I still think he got robbed too often.

The umps are screwing Casas over on balls, and strikes?. Swing the dang bat, and just not an imaginary swing.🙈

[mvp 78]

I also wouldn't put too much stock into how he was portrayed in the doc. Remember how they kinda made Wong into a villain and had a little story about Wong not calling the right pitches for Bello. Turns out, Bello said all year long in '25 how much he loved pitching to Wong and kept him as his personal caddy. 

[moonslav59]

1 hour ago, Old Red said:

The umps are screwing Casas over on balls, and strikes?. Swing the dang bat, and just not an imaginary swing.🙈

Just my opinion on the umps.

Again, I would not change a thing about his approach. Just get yourself in better shape and maybe stay healthy, for once!

[Old Red]

9 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

Just my opinion on the umps.

Again, I would not change a thing about his approach. Just get yourself in better shape and maybe stay healthy, for once!

I would change his approach completely. First good pitch whale away. He should be up there looking to take a hack first, and not looking to take a walk, and then taking a walk back to the dugout after getting called out on a third strike.

[moonslav59]

5 minutes ago, Old Red said:

I would change his approach completely. First good pitch whale away. He should be up there looking to take a hack first, and not looking to take a walk, and then taking a walk back to the dugout after getting called out on a third strike.

It's not easy messing with a player's approach. Sometimes, it works. Many times it does not. 

Usually, a change is made if a guy is struggling, either over his career or recently. Casas has put up close to great numbers. He has traditionally started each season slowly, so I'm not sure we can read a lot into the "recency" of his 2025 season. Small sample, but he was actually heating up before wrecking his knee lumbering to 1B. He needs a body change not an approach change.

He's a career .800 hitter (.830 before 2025) with one of the team's best ISO numbers, OBP and SLG. The guy can hit. "Don't mess with a good hitter" is my motto.

[mvp 78]

22 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

It's not easy messing with a player's approach. Sometimes, it works. Many times it does not. 

Usually, a change is made if a guy is struggling, either over his career or recently. Casas has put up close to great numbers. He has traditionally started each season slowly, so I'm not sure we can read a lot into the "recency" of his 2025 season. Small sample, but he was actually heating up before wrecking his knee lumbering to 1B. He needs a body change not an approach change.

He's a career .800 hitter (.830 before 2025) with one of the team's best ISO numbers, OBP and SLG. The guy can hit. "Don't mess with a good hitter" is my motto.

The only year his OPS was above 801 was when he didn't have a putrid looking k %. Just have him be less passive with 2 strikes.

[drewski6]

16 hours ago, JoeBrady said:

A walk is almost never a bad outcome.  IMO, the two most important attributes for a hitter are:

1-Never swing at a ball.

2-If you're ahead in the count, don't swing at strikes you can't hit.  I don't know how often I see a hitter leaning over to swing at a 1-0 ball low and outside.  Even if it's a strike, so what?

This was the outlook in 2005; however, current philosophy is the worst thing you can do is let a juicy fastball go by.

I dont need to regurgitate everything I said above but there are very good reasons for why the mindset and approach has changed.

If you never swing at a ball, you are waiting for the ball to get too deep.  Kind of like how if you never get bluff'd out you are calling too often.

At some point, you have to commit to what you see and what you guess.  You have to turn on a fastball and meet it in front. If that fastball is a well timed and well "tunneled" slider , and you k, you gotta live with it.

If Casas is going up there afraid to swing at a ball, then hes not going to the plate with an aggressive mindset.  He should be going up there and looking to eat.  Have you ever taken a changeup middle-middle, its a much worse feeling then chasing a slider. Thats going to happen.

Like I said above, when Im hot, Im looking to swing....When my confidence is off, Im looking to walk.  Be selective, but swing at the pitch that you think is going to be the best pitch of the at-bat.  A walk is not something , especially someone like Casas, should be looking to do.  Okay if you are a 7,8,9 hitter or a speedster.

[drewski6]

38 minutes ago, Old Red said:

I would change his approach completely. First good pitch whale away. He should be up there looking to take a hack first, and not looking to take a walk, and then taking a walk back to the dugout after getting called out on a third strike.

100%

[drewski6]

2 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

The only year his OPS was above 801 was when he didn't have a putrid looking k %. Just have him be less passive with 2 strikes.

Have him also be less passive so he gets to 2-strike counts less.  Like Red said, he should be looking to jump on the first thing straight.

[drewski6]

Take your walks if you must, but it shouldnt be your goal.  And if you walk, you usually did do something wrong. Doesnt mean its a worse outcome than an out. But it prob means you fouled off something juicy or took the most hittable pitch in the at bat.  Doesnt mean that the logic was off, and it happens a lot.  But its a hindsight mistake. Like a hittable pitch but not a meatball in a 1-1 count and you take it for 1-2 because you think you'll get something better and you never do and you walk.

Thats not an obvious example of why its good to be super passive like that.

Meet the ball out in front, pull, commit, be selective but aggressive, look to eat.

To be honest: the most important rule about hitting is always approach your at bat with confidence.  ANd trying to foul and draw a walk isnt a particularly confident approach.  When Im confident vs when Im not. 2 completely different hitters.

[drewski6]

35 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

It's not easy messing with a player's approach. Sometimes, it works. Many times it does not. 

Usually, a change is made if a guy is struggling, either over his career or recently. Casas has put up close to great numbers. He has traditionally started each season slowly, so I'm not sure we can read a lot into the "recency" of his 2025 season. Small sample, but he was actually heating up before wrecking his knee lumbering to 1B. He needs a body change not an approach change.

He's a career .800 hitter (.830 before 2025) with one of the team's best ISO numbers, OBP and SLG. The guy can hit. "Don't mess with a good hitter" is my motto.

An .800 hitting DH is a AAAA player.

[moonslav59]

5 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

The only year his OPS was above 801 was when he didn't have a putrid looking k %. Just have him be less passive with 2 strikes.

Huh?

He was over .800 in 2 seasons- his two longest ones. (Okay 2 over .7994)

'24 worst K rate (32%) .800

'23 second worst (25%) .856

'22 second best (24.2%) .766 just 95 PAs

'25 best K rate (24%) .580 in just 11 PAs

[moonslav59]

Just now, drewski6 said:

An .800 hitting DH is a AAAA player.

Funny! Not even close to reality!

170 PAs is the cutoff to get 30 qualifying DHs.

Only 11 were over .800 (6 with 300+ PAs and 4 ver 360 PAs)

It's about his PAs. If he gave us 400+ PAs at .800, he'd have been the 5th best DH in MLB in 2025.

 

[moonslav59]

7 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

Take your walks if you must, but it shouldnt be your goal.  And if you walk, you usually did do something wrong. Doesnt mean its a worse outcome than an out. But it prob means you fouled off something juicy or took the most hittable pitch in the at bat.  Doesnt mean that the logic was off, and it happens a lot.  But its a hindsight mistake. Like a hittable pitch but not a meatball in a 1-1 count and you take it for 1-2 because you think you'll get something better and you never do and you walk.

Thats not an obvious example of why its good to be super passive like that.

Meet the ball out in front, pull, commit, be selective but aggressive, look to eat.

To be honest: the most important rule about hitting is always approach your at bat with confidence.  ANd trying to foul and draw a walk isnt a particularly confident approach.  When Im confident vs when Im not. 2 completely different hitters.

Casas seems to have a lot of confidence.

[mvp 78]

20 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

Huh?

He was over .800 in 2 seasons- his two longest ones. (Okay 2 over .7994)

'24 worst K rate (32%) .800

'23 second worst (25%) .856

'22 second best (24.2%) .766 just 95 PAs

'25 best K rate (24%) .580 in just 11 PAs

You missed where I said 801. His best year, when he hit 856, was when he had his best 2 strike approach.