Red Sox skipper Álex Cora acknowledged over the weekend that there was concern about a potentially “lengthy absence” for first baseman Triston Casas following a rib injury, and it now seems those fears were warranted. Cora announced to the Red Sox beat that an MRI revealed a left rib fracture for Casas (X link via MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo), adding that the slugger is expected to be sidelined for “a while.” Cora didn’t delve into specifics but noted that Bobby Dalbec will pick up the bulk of playing time at first base in his absence.
The news is obviously rough for the Red Sox, as Casas has emerged as a consistently above-average hitter early in his career. Though he just turned 24 years old in January, he now has 687 major league plate appearances with 35 home runs and a walk rate of 14.7%. His 25.5% strikeout rate is a bit on the high side but the power and the free passes have led to a 252/.362/.482 batting line and 129 wRC+.
The Sox will now have to proceed without that production for some nebulous amount of time. “Time-table? There’s none,” Cora said, per Ian Browne of MLB.com. “This has to heal on its own. We’ve just got to be patient.”
Regardless of the eventual length of his absence, it adds to a growing pile of injuries for the Red Sox. Trevor Story is out for the year due to shoulder surgery. Vaughn Grissom hasn’t yet made his debut with the team due to a groin strain, though he is on a rehab assignment and getting closer to joining the big league club. The rotation is without Lucas Giolito, Garrett Whitlock and Nick Pivetta at the moment. The Sox have managed to go 13-10 so far and stay afloat in a tough A.L. East race, but each injury will make it harder to keep that up as the grind of the season continues.
For now, Dalbec will step in at first base, despite having hit .033/.121/.067 on the year so far. He has generally hit will in Triple-A over the years but struggled whenever brought up to the majors. He has hit .224/.291/.434 in the big leagues, 93 wRC+, while striking out in 36.5% of his plate appearances. Dating back to the start of 2021, he has hit .265/.372/.558 in the minors. His 33.8% strikeout rate down on the farm in that time has still been high but that production leads to a 129 wRC+.
The Sox will be hoping that a run of consistent playing time will help Dalbec get into a groove and have his major league numbers more closely resemble what he’s done in the minors. The Sox could also keep their eyes open for other options. The Cubs just designated first baseman Garrett Cooper for assignment and Boston is a sensible landing spot for him, though it’s one of many. If the Red Sox end up finding someone they like for the first base gig more than Dalbec, he can play other positions and is also still optionable.
Assuming Casas is going to miss at least a couple of months, he’ll be moved to the 60-day injured list whenever the club needs a roster spot. He was already placed on the 10-day IL on the weekend.
And so it begins…
Ouch. Club not giving a timeline, but Dr. Google suggests six weeks to three months for a rib fracture.
Dalbec gets his everyday job?
Kavadas gets that shot at the majors that he never expected?
Or do they go outside the organization to find somebody decent?
Brandon Belt?
Belt is about as good at 1B these days as Yoshida is in the outfield. He’s a DH now and not even up to game speed.
Perfect, he’ll fit right in.
@elmedius:
Brandon Belt was a +1 OAA and a -1 DRS last year at first for the Jays. He wasn’t used a lot at first (29 games, 242.2 innings) but he was serviceable on defense.
FanGraphs has him at -2 DRS. Take that 242.2 innings and multiply them over a full season…. Plus a -4 OAA in 2022… it’s not exactly good. And I’m no scout and only saw him play first a few times, but the guy looked like a brick out there last year. Maybe “serviceable” but definitely not good. It could be unrealistic salary expectations that have kept him off a roster this year, but being a DH that’s only just kind of serviceable at first in a pinch isn’t helping him.
That being said, the Sox have run Wong out there a few times late in games and I don’t see why they wouldn’t give the idea a bigger shot. Guy is an athlete and both he and Reese have been hitting well as of late. Ride the hot hands.
Cooper makes more sense than Belt. Cooper could step in immediately. Belt would probably take three weeks to ramp up and get game ready. JD Martinez was signed by the Mets a month back and still hasn’t debuted for them.
Lord – I think JDM’s issue is related to the back problems he’s had the past few years.
It is, but a reminder that older players are more prone to injury and need extra prep time. Belt’s had his own set over the years, including knee issues.
Garrett Cooper you are a Red Sox
“Garrett Cooper you are”…Garrett Cooper is a massive upgrade over Bobby Dalbec. A scrub like Dalbec getting almost a 1000 Major League at bats is indicative of how far the Red Sox’s(And MLB’s really)talent level has fallen off the last 3-5 years. The reason so many young position players(see Baltimore)seem like instant superstars is because Major League pitching has fallen off a cliff the last 5+ yrs for various reasons.
@mlb fan “Major League pitching has fallen off a cliff the last 5+ yrs…” The facts don’t support your misguided opinions once again. How are you so consistently wrong about your claims?
MLB average slash line:
’24 -.240/.315/.382
’23 -.248/.320/.414
’22 -.243/.312/.395
’21 -.244/.317/.411
’20 -.245/.322/.418
’19 -.252/.323/.435
Your issue:
BOS hitting has gotten worse the past 5 years. Even Dalbec plays.
Your conclusion:
MLB pitchers have fallen off a cliff during this time.
Digging the Bob Burda reference. I thought I was the only guy that remembered him. Saw him play for the Giants, pinch-hitting mostly. As I recall, however, the dude wasn’t much better than Dalbec even in his prime so I doubt he could give him a run in his 80s.
or Jake Alu – you are a Red Sox. Shouldn’t the Redsox and Astros just trade Dalbec for Abreu. change of scenery for each. (and salary dump for HOU)
Abreu doesn’t carry anything worth his salary.
Neither bat is playing, abreu is OLD so who knows what will come back of his, and, Dalbec has played GOOD defense at 1B and 3B so far.
74+ innings split at both 1st and 3rd, 1.000 fielding, 13 assists, 2 double plays.
What incentive if there to take on that albatross contract, especially given Henry’s aversion to spending?
Astros better pay 100% of the salary and throw.in a lottery ticket prospect.
GASox – Dalbec made a sensational grab tonight that likely saved at least one run.
But man, the errors never stop …. this time TWICE Red Sox baserunners got picked off first base. Rafaela botched a bunt attempt, and Ref made a horrible throw to the wrong base.
Now 1-7 against good teams ….. too bad they don’t play the White Sox and Marlins until June/July.
Another monster homerun for my man Abreu though!!
“The facts don’t support”..There’s actually very few “facts” when discussing sports. Most of sports is actually “opinions” and you actually didn’t provide anything relevant or informative. If you want to discuss “facts”, we’ll discuss math or science someday, but good luck continuing to think you’re the smartest guy in the room, letsgonats.
“The facts don’t support”..My bad. My last post was actually directed at “MLB fanatic”, not “Letsgonats”.
“There’s actually very few “facts” when discussing sports.” Well ok then. Lol.
No.salary dump, make Houston take yoshi too. Dalbs is making league min, no need to pay more for absolute suck
DBH – Yoshida salary balances things somewhat on the payroll side, except you’re still stuck with the fact Yoshida actually produces – just not fully to his salary level.
So, your ledger is still a bit light on the return from HOU.
Agreed, GA. My brain was still in knots of seeing somebody actually suggest that swap. “Hey, I will give you my league minimum absolute suck, who is a good fielder at multiple positions… and in return you give me your 40+, pretending-to-still-be-a-teen, who can’t field ANYWHERE, Absolute Suck. Oh, and hey, let ME pay you 12 mils a year for that!”
What that actual eff?!?
I think that Bloom in disguise!
DBH, you’re on a heck of a roll today getting me laughing. I may need to get you on retainer for when life feels particularly oppressive.
Today ain’t been a good one, but, you gave me a respite twice now. Many thanks! I needed it!
How are you doing, if you don’t mind me asking?
Any time, GA. I can’t help it… sarcasm/humor brought to you by Massachusetts Irish Blood lol
DBH – Also a native masshole myself, except from out the Berkshires way.
Joe – don’t mind at all, appreciate the fact you care to ask. I’ve been pushing myself lately. Seem to have more worse days than better ones, but, doing my darnedest to not let it hold me back any more than I need to.
I should be somewhat happy, my last 3 workups showed I’m hovering around but just short of what they call ‘molecular response’ – thatd be around 1% damaged/abnormal leukemic blood cells. But chemo is still my friend for… eh, a long time yet. Side effects that come with everything have been rough, BUT, many have it worse than I, and, for that I’m grateful.
I didn’t sell, and didn’t buy (much) but I did camp out at my car show spots I have reserved every year. Across from me were a challenger and 3 mustangs, made me think of you. IIRC, the white challenger was around a 70? And the 3 fastback GTs were a 65 for sure (i really wanted it), a 68?, and I think a 70 boss 302. All reasonably priced for what they were, projects of one stage or another. I’d posted to Fever when I was staring at them *trying* not to buy one since I can’t work on what I’ve got lol, mentioned the GTs made me think of you.
But, my restraint only goes so far. I did agree to buy one of the 215 first-year buick grand nationals. Not the sexiest of cars all in all, but, I’ve had a soft spot for decades now and at $2800 I had to jump. Fairly striking for a malaise era 80s car. Ones of these weeks we need to pick it up even if I just look at it too for months (years?)…
Otherwise, been really enjoying watching the kids play for the Sox, hating that I was right about some holes, loving that the returns on Breslow’s changes thus far have exceeded even my relatively bullish expectations. I still think they’ll hit more growing pains, and still think they’ll exceed last years win counts. Nothing has changed my post-spring-training, pre-season expectations in that regard.
How’s life been your neck of the woods, if you don’t mind my asking?
Ga… i went to Taconic lol
IRT the Grand National, the fiance of one of the girls I worked with (both lovely people) bought one of those really early. I had never even heard of it, and this guy was quiet as a church mouse. She said he hardly ever took it out of the garage. I’m guessing that was probably a pretty good investment.
IRT Fastbacks, being from The Bronx, and being kind of a (self)-described rebel, I always wanted the other Bullit car. Steve McQueen had the prettier car, but their was something muscular about the Dodge Charger R/T 400. Steve McQueen gets all the credit, but the two guys he was chasing were decidedly not stepping back.
That and the draft on Thursday. As a Raiders fan, this is the first time n about 20 years that I felt like we are headed in the right direction. Gruden II was a disaster in the draft room, and McDaniels was worse, but less damaging. Watching Pierce, and how the players react to him, has been an incredible breath of fresh air.
letsgonats- lol- this a semi-serious & interesting discussion………
can we please just place a sack of potatoes over at first. dalbec is not even remotely close to the answer. I’d rather see anybody else
It’s astonishing Dalbec is still in the organization, but we have to be grateful Yu Chang is not. I guarantee if Bloom was still in place, Chang would be the starting 3B right now.
Chang would be an improvement…
I can’t watch a full year of Dalbec
dirty – He has exactly 200 career hits, I think he just wants to savor the nice round milestone for a month or two. Look for #201 during the 4-game series in Chicago early June.
lol So how’s that decision not to add depth at corner infield paying off?? If I was watching the games the idea of having to watch Bobby Dalbec for an extended period would be enough to make me look elsewhere for entertainment!
“If I was watching the games”
How do people like you exist? You’re actually so mad about the state of the Red Sox, you don’t watch the games, but then you still troll comment sections about them?
Why don’t you just, I don’t know, enjoy your life if this makes you upset?
Dumb question, I know. You can’t.
I’m enjoying my life to the fullest. Did I hurt your wittle feelings??? It’s ok son, you just keep giving your time and attention to a team that has no interest in winning
Bobby Dalbec! Cool! Great. Neat. Fun! ahhh joy
As an O’s fan, I approve of Dalbec getting more playing time.
As a Red Sox fan, who was born in 84, I approve of the fact the Red sox have won more titles since I was born than the Orioles have in their history.
Let’s just hope we don’t have to wait 100 years in Baltimore
DFA deal for Garrett Cooper to be a body?
Brandon belt can also be signed so he can stop whining about not being signed
“Whining about not being signed”…Guys like Brandon Belt & Kike Hernandez severely overestimate their usefulness at this late stage of their careers. Kike, in particular, is lucky any team finds him useful enough to warrant a roster spot.
Casas had an OPS last year, which was lower than Belt’s
Belt had a .858 OPS last year. He had a .975 OPS in 2021. He probably “severely overestimated” himself because he hits very well.
“He hits very well”…If you just look at the numbers he sounds like a Hofer; but how many times do you have to bench him because he can’t hit that days “tough” pitcher? I’d look great too if they only played me against softer pitchers I can dominate.
“I’d look great too if they only played me against softer pitchers I can dominate.”
Nah, I don’t think you would.
Belt had a .858 OPS last year.
======================
He also had a .370 BABIP last year, And he’s been strictly a platoon player for the last 4 years, with only a .599 and .572 OPS in the past two years. Plus maybe 2-3 weeks to get ready.
Belt could still be a player, but for fit purposes, I’d with Cooper or trade for JD.
Belt put up an .859 OPS over 300+ at-bats last year. That puts him squarely in the vicinity of Jorge Soler (.853), Mike Trout (.857), Luis Robert (.857), Triston Casas (!!) (.857), Austin Riley (.859), Luis Arraez (.859)… the list goes on. I know he’s on the older side, but acting like Belt is washed up is just counterfactual. He had a very productive season last year and ranked in at least the top 100 offensive players by almost any worthwhile batting metric.
The part of that equation you left out is the fact that Belt admittedly has bad knees. He’d have to platoon with someone at 1B, and even then it’s a stretch to say he’ll last the season without a notable IL placement. Realistically he’s a DH/bench bat, and you wanna keep him away from 1B as much as possible.
He’s probably got more thump than Yoshida, lol
crocus – Why do you think Belt received zero interest last offseason? He doesn’t have a bad reputation like Bauer, so I tend to think MLB front offices know something about him that we don’t.
Yeah, I’ve wondered that too. I mean, I think some of it has to do with the devaluation of bat-first corner pieces across the sport, and after putting up such a (genuinely impressive!) campaign I’m guessing Belt wasn’t willing to settle for a cheap contract. Hard to blame him for that—defensive versatility is an enormous boon, of course, but it is a little weird that a guy who produced so well at the plate can only land minor league deals while IKF is getting multi-year deals in the millions just because he can play every position. (Honestly, Kiké is a good example of this too.)
My theory is that watching Miggy and Pujols limp across the finish line of their mega-deals has convinced most owners that signing defensively-limited sluggers in their late 30s is a uniformly bad idea. I’d echo that for long-term deals, for sure (which is part of why I think extending Devers was so foolish), but taking an 8-10 million flyer on someone who can post 25 home runs and bat 5th every day doesn’t seem unreasonable to me at any age, bad knees be damned.
No worries…. Bobby D gonna go big. Nah
Not good. 60-day IL minimum.
This fella is going to be out all year. No way he can swing a bat with force for the next 6 months
Don’t sneeze dude. Worst pain ever.
Fracturing a rib swinging a bat. Wow. That’s going at it.
Reminds me of the game last Sept when Rengifo tore a biceps swinging a bat in the on deck circle.
At some point you have to start questioning their strength and conditioning department. They’re down 3 of their top starting pitchers and their top 4 hitters, plus Vaughn, who projected to be one of their top hitters also. They need new trainers and overhaul their entire fitness program. It’s not working and it’s utterly embarrassing.
I never really bought the whole “replace the training staff” excuse. Maybe I’m way off base but these guys are all professional athletes, have a whole range of private coaches, dieticians, personal training regimens, etc. Sox training staff are part of that but I don’t look to them for blame on these early-season injuries
Well, when every player that matters goes down with an injury, there is a common denominator.
Casas got hurt swinging too hard. Story got hurt diving for a ball, And O’Neill got hurt in a collision. I appreciate good conditioning, but a couple of laps around the track wouldn’t fix that.
I’ll give you the collision, but everyone else, including all the pitchers, their bodies are breaking down far too easily. Like I said, whatever they’re doing isn’t working.
How would a trainer make a bone harder?
You’re right there’s a lot of ignorance in these comments. Building up muscles and a strong core prevents injuries. Strong intercostal muscles protect the ribs. This stuff is taught in grade school. The only lifting these commenters do is Bud Light cans.
Strength training builds bone density.
This is mostly a pure guessing game. Casas looks like he spends a ton of time lifting. And there is only a certain amount of lifting you’d want a SS, or maybe a pitcher to do.
Casas absolutely did a lot of lifting over the off-season. Other than that, we don’t know the details of his workout. We can hope that he gave full attention to his core strength, but a poorly crafted training program can set you up for injuries by resulting in strength imbalance. We just don’t know.
You would think these guys would have professional trainers on call 24/7, but the reality is that it is a lot more haphazard than that. Maybe some smart organization will find a way to make their training staff available to the players and prospects over the winter? Tough to put all the responsibility on a kid in his 20s and expect him to get it right.
Casas is young and I doubt any trainer would be worried about his bone density or breaking a rib like this which seems like a rare event. I would bet he does a lot of core exercises. Whatever happened, I think he will get an exercise program designed to help prevent this from happening again in the future.
I remember after the 86 season… Bob Stanley did a interview… it was titled..” My season from hell’ wonder if it’s trademarked????
Bob Stanley never should have been pitching with the World Series on the line. John McNamara’s biggest mistake that year.
Second biggest mistake…..leaving Buckner in the game was his first biggest mistake.
Stop it!!! Enough!!! Don’t be that guy…. Like in Chicago people blaming Bartman… untrue….
Fat … respect your opinion but I’m 6-5 300 lb and I could have done a better job than Richard Leo on that pitch… to this day the last time I saw a face of fear like Calvin S in 10th I was taking M-Cat….
Olm – Many years ago, probably before your time, there was a football player who was 6’2″ 390 pounds in college and dropped down to 335 pounds in the NFL.
He played for Da Bears …. they called him The Fridge ….. and I have no idea where I’m going with this …… oh yeah, ever consider the WWE? Fridge made some big bucks at Wrestlemania …. even did a song and video called The Superbowl Shuffle …..
Crazy fact… I was at that wrestlemania as it was a battle royal!! Jimbo covert was also in it!! They had it at rosemont horizon .. as for me… when I played ball I could catch anything hit at me but coach said I had about much range AS a refrigerator!!!lol
“M-Cat”..???? I’m not sure if the M-Cat I am thinking about is the M-Cat you’re referring to….but maybe it is lol.
Ignorant – Same one Jack said Greg never took in Meet The Parents.
And I can’t believe his last name got flagged!
I did as good as Calvin… I ended up M-CAT….Manager..CATEGORY…( Produce) at grocery store in Illinois!!LOL!!!Daughter who just did take it( to get into med school) enjoyed my post) like the game CLUE… I don’t have one…. LOL!!!
IGN Sob/ FPG… I’m sorry I didn’t come here looking for trouble…. I just came to do the Brasier shuffle….
Olm – Staying on the subject of Chicago ….. remember how I was the only one who kept pushing for Breslow to sign Imanaga??? And he signed for a pittance with the Cubbies.
Shota is 3-0 in 4 starts with a 0.84 ERA and 0.750 WHIP. and 21 K’s to just 2 Walks!
When will the Red Sox ever learn to listen to me!!!
Yes sir!!! I always said YOU guys really have a knack on knowledge about Red Sox.. I just hope you guys find it in your hearts to hire me to sell peanuts at the Fens.. ( not beer) no one buys peanuts so I could watch the game!!!… define irony… Bobby goes 0-2 but NO k’s…. RM pinch hits and….????
Olm – I think GASox should be the one training Breslow!
Me, I’d be happy just as a 5th Assistant GM ….. 4 AGM’s just ain’t enough.
Or Chief Experience Officer, which is an actual Red Sox position right now. I’ll give ’em an experience.
Otherwise make me the Assistant To The Traveling Secretary …. hey if Costanza can hold that title, so can I.
On a bright note, O’Neill is back!!! Someone needs to explain to Devers that he should stay in his own lane on the field like he actually understands how to play defense. Think about how lucky Bogey was not being injured playing next to Devers all those years. Instead, Devers just ruined Bogey’s defensive metrics!!!
I think moving O’Neill to DH and Yoshida to left field makes sense so when Devers clobbers the LF again the impact is much less!! Wait, I’ve got it. Move Devers to DH!!! That way he never clobbers someone again!!
TF – Unfortunately O’Neill was definitely still suffering from the concussion tonight, just 1-for-4 with 2 K’s. I hope this isn’t another situation like Rizzo last year, he suffered a concussion early in the season but kept playing for months and his performance sucked.
My man Yoshida got hit again, what’s up with that? Second time in his last 3 games!
Same people who at this time said Casas was awful are now crying their eyes out that Casas is out.
Amen.
How is Cooper’s defense at 1st base?
sheer – Cooper is 56 right now, but he did play a solid first base and third base so why not?
Unless you’re talking about Cooper Criswell becoming the next Ohtani.
Bobby Dalbec hanging around like a stray cat. Sox need to let the dog out.
There are very few things that could make me stop watching the Red Sox, but a full 550 at-bats from Bobby Dalbec might be one of them. He’s just not a sustainable person to have in your everyday lineup by almost any evaluation. I’m not even sure he’d make the roster on the A’s.
And for anyone who wants to point to his flash-in-the-pan rookie season… that was then, this is now. He’s completely lost at the plate.
crocus – Great point, some people here definitely live in the past too much.
As the great Bill Belichick once said, better to run a guy out of town a year too soon than a year too late.
They fired Bill more than a year too late
Sox need Cooper and they did have interest over the winter,hopefully something happens there.
At 13-10 you have to wonder how good this team could be if they could stay healthy for 5 minutes
Cora: “I have bad news and worse news. The bad news is Casas is headed for a lengthy IL stint. The worse news is he’s being replaced with Bobby Dalbec.” I think an injured Casas would be more productive than Dalbec at the top of his game.
After the first 100 consecutive sliders low and away, you’d think Dalbec could discern a pattern.
Him and Ceddanne.
DBH – I can’t believe Cora still has him at leadoff, another hitless game tonight with 3 K’s. Not only is it obviously hurting the team, the added pressure of batting leadoff has to be a factor.
There’s a reason why great rookies always batted in the bottom third of the lineup, it keeps the pressure off them.
He has a 50M contract now otherwise he would be back in AAA. That wasn’t Cora’s idea.
I wish Dalbec could Daubach.
hayzee – Little known fact related to the Belleville Basher, I stayed overnight in Belleville when the Sox were on the road in the ’04 WS.
That beats my story. In 1978, I lived in the same town as Bucky Dent and Goose Gossage. Ugh.
hayzee – No, your story beats mine.
For just a couple days I was in a town the Dauber grew up in, but you lived in the same town as those two guys. That’s definitely better than my story!
Looking back, Duquette was really good at identifying talent from the scrap heap …. Daubach, O’Leary, Wakefield …..makes you wonder how many championships he could have won with a budget as big as Larry/Theo had.
For some reason my town was popular with Yankees players. So was the next town over. It was kind of depressing for a Red Sox fan. Especially around that time.
hayzee – Typically when one is the first to move into an area, they talk people they know into doing the same.
My parents were the first from their region to move into New England, and shortly after a bunch of relatives followed.
I suppose it’s fitting that Dalbec and Malbec rhyme.
Wow. Cora is quoted in the globe that Casas is out for the season!
How did he fracture his ribs?
Swinging his bat at a pitch. So flukey.
Cora also indicated that Casas had complained about rib discomfort prior to that game so it’s possible there was already a microfracture.
Casas mentioned that he had felt discomfort a number of games before, and, felt he was having a hot streak so he wanted to push through it to keep things going.
He played a number of additional games, finally speaking up and pulling himself out after the 1st ab that day where he felt like he couldn’t breathe because of the pain.
Another case of a player putting his own stats and case for a fat extension ahead of health and team, then, a more minor injury becoming a BIG issue that keeps a guy out way longer, hurting teammates and ballclub.
He can be a strange one, no doubt. But I think the opposite. He reported the injury, but knee the team was already short handed.
As soon as he reported it the team should have been monito6him.
I don’t think there’s much to look into it and I wouldn’t put this one on the medical staff. Nothing you can do about the initial rib discomfort but wait it out and take some Advil. Hard to predict that it could’ve led to a bigger fracture.
Dbh – the reporting I read said he felt it but chose to push through it. I didn’t read that he reported it the day he first felt it? I *do* get brain fog, so may be very mistaken on that…. any links to anywhere saying he reported it right away?
That may change my opinion, especially regarding the med staff.
I have a subscription to the globe. The globe hit posted now.
Confusion comes from Cora. Says something one day and the let’s more slip.the next. Example from earlier. First Cora quote is that Casas will be out for a while. Then later today, “…I don’t expect to see Casas play again this year”
He is either letting his guard down with the globe reporters, or using them as a way to bypass the FO to get info out around the pr department
Gotcha. Don’t have a globe subscription, but, it may wind up in the Google News feed as a way to preview around the pay wall. I’ll keep an eye out for it.
I do agree about Cora and his changing stories. You never know which version to believe with him. I don’t think it’s about letting his guard down, but, I WOULD believe it’s a way to undermine the front office. That seems to fit how I perceive so much of what he did with bloom as well.
YBC – I agree, injuries can be degenerative and played through until finally time is up. No different than bad ball joints, you can drive on them for a while but when they finally go it could be catastrophic.
Same thing happened with Giolito, he was injured before he signed with the Red Sox but the injury didn’t become evident to everyone else until he finally let loose ….. after signing the ridiculous fat contract, of course.
GASox – Exactly!! Players can and often do play through injuries while keeping it a secret, just like Giolito did before joining the Red Sox.
DBH – When did he finally report it? That doesn’t sound like something the Red Sox would do, they are usually overly protective of players’ health …. especially every year they are projected to finish dead last, like this year ….. there’s nothing to play for, so why would they risk his longterm health?
YBC – The staff could have done an MRI right away, catching it while it’s small could have prevented it from getting big. I had a rotator cuff tear years ago, I treated it and it never got worse.
DBH – I agree Cora is a cheat, a snake and a liar, but sometimes he does tell the truth. No reason for him to give worst-case scenario if it’s not true.
The goal now is to get him fully healed for 2025.
GASox – Exactly!!! I pointed out how he made Heineken the starting DH his first game up, batting Rafaela leadoff, stuff like that just to show up the front office for giving him so little to work with … especially in a contract year for him. The worse this season gets, the more his earnings potential goes down. And he’s known to throw it right back in management’s face, just like he did last year with Bearclaw.
So Fever, in this ‘contract’ year for Cora… how would he handle things if breslow were to activate him to be a player/manager?
Could it make the IF defense any worse? Would he play himself regularly to tank things out of spite?
GASox – Cora would cheat by paying off the opponents.
Don’t believe me? Watch this video!
youtu.be/C5joHlogSSM?feature=shared
bostonglobe.com/2024/04/23/sports/red-sox-casas-ri…
GA – even if he felt it and reported it immediately all it would take is a big sneeze to make it worse.
We would all do the same thing if we were in his shoes. This isn’t high school, this is their career so of course they’re going to put themselves first as they should. The issue really is how young players get paid and that’s really on the union and mlb. They should get some sort of minimum but then be able to increase that pay based on performance and not have to wait for an extension or free agency.
DBH – Can’t read the article, it’s behind a paywall.
What does it say?
never mind folks, I misread the quote. Cora said he DOES expect Casas to return sometime this season. My bad
@FPG use “archive (dot) is”
YBC – Not really flukey, Chris Sale fractured his rib on a pitch while throwing batting practice.
It looks pretty clear to me that Dalbec, who seems like a decent chap, just cannot hit major league pitching with any consistency. He’s ok around the bag at 1B, but that K rate really sinks him at the dish. He’s just one of those AAAA guys who’s never going to master(or even be average) against major league pitching. If I were in charge of the club, I would always be looking to trade guys like this to another team who hopes they can catch that elusive lightening in a bottle type of thing.
Also, I’ve had a rib fracture before; it’s really uncomfortable for a long, long time. Casas will be out awhile.
Guy he struck out 30% of time in AAA
They let Travis Shaw go for being better than Dalbec currently is.
Dalbec is simply not a Major Leaguer. No shame in that. Time to move on.
Niko Kavadas should get his chance soon especially if continues to rake in Worcester.
Who gets DFAd to give Kavadas a chance?
“Bobby Dalbec will pick up the bulk of playing time at first base in his absence.”
Doh!
Gotta sign Izzy Alcantara
The karate kid.
Good clubhouse guy too
seasons over 2025 is our year! shucks atleast chaim was hired
Jose – This is why I never buy into punting on a season with the expectation they will compete in 3-5 years. Kennedy said only when MAT have developed into major league stars will the Red Sox try to win. It’s just another dangling carrot from the front office, there’s no guarantee they will all turn into starts let alone stay healthy. This was supposed to be a breakout year for both Casas and Rafaela, obviously it hasn’t happened.
* Turn into stars, not starts. LOL
Terrible loss for the Sox. I’ll be surprised if we see Casas again this season. Remember Jacoby Ellsbury when he fractured a rib. He kept trying to comeback and kept reinjuring his rib.
Yaz – Great point about Ellsbury. All it takes is a sneeze or cough to re-injure.
Blobby is awful..for the love of all that is good in the world please get someone else!!
At the Cron house right now, CJ is kicking himself for opting out in order to not sign anywhere.
They should give Kavadas a shot if they miss out on Cooper. Kavadas might only hit .200, but that’s better than Dalbec at the plate because of his OBP capability. His career MiLB OBP is something like .415
Why not just sign Brandon Belt?
They prefer suspenders? I think they prefer a right handed bat. Dalbec merely occupies the batters box on the left hand side of home plate.
Unfortunately, Dalbec still has a selling point, namely that he can play pretty good D at both 1B and 3B. All of the replacements you’d rather see at 1B would not be able to cover 3B, and, now that Devers has stupid money, his body is free to break down all he wants (not to mention how bad he is at 3B, cutting everyone off to boot balls). If you pick up Cooper and put him at 1B, the only 3B backup is Pablo Reyes. When Grissom is ready, Enmanuel Valdez goes down because he has been bad. Ditching Dalbec (which I am FOR) nonetheless causes replacement needs at both IF corners, not just 1B.
Dalbec is in his final option year. Also, correct me.l if I’m wrong, but, under the new CBA, a guy can only be shuttled back and forth three times in a season as well IIRC, right? So you can option him 3 different seasons, and, new rule, no more than 3 times up/down in each of those option years.
Sending him back down now would burn the second trip in a young 2024 since he broke camp with the club, only to go back to aaa something like 6 PAs later.
That means you only get to use him one more time, and, we’re not even out of April? That’s a problem for a team.that ignored 3B backup depth all winter. Dalbec is your only good defender that can backup Devers. The fact he plays good defense at both 1st and 3rd helps a lot
I thought it was a limit of five, not three. And I believe that, if the person sent down must be recalled because of an injury to someone on the 26-man, then that recall might be allowed regardless of the limit (not sure about this). I know that, in the case of such injury, the recalled player doesn’t have to be stuck in the minors for the usual waiting period but can come up right away to replace an IL player.
hayzee – As a suspender man myself, I endorse that joke!
Just think if Panda was wearing suspenders instead of a belt, he never would have suffered such an embarrassing public humiliation.