Triston Casas’ rookie season got off to a rough start. At times the 23-year-old seemed overmatched by big league pitching, and by the end of April he was batting .133 with a .283 on-base percentage and .293 slugging percentage, hardly the production the club had envisioned from their former top prospect.
Luckily for Casas, he didn’t have to look hard to find another left-handed power hitter in the clubhouse he could turn to for advice.
Through a series of conversations, meals and interactions around the ballpark, Rafael Devers took Casas under his wing and helped the talented first baseman adjust to the major leagues. The results have been undeniable, and now for three and a half months Casas has been among the most impactful hitters in baseball.
“I think Raffy really got through him in his own way as a leader in the group,” said Red Sox hitting coach Peter Fatse. “It was really cool for Raffy to go out and push the envelop.”
Devers said Casas approached him and the two started spending a lot of time together. They’d often go out for breakfast, hang out at Devers’ place and talk about various baseball situations during the game. Even though the two can’t speak each other’s languages fluently, Casas said he’s learned a lot from the two-time All-Star.
“I think more than the words he uses, I follow his example. Obviously because of his stats but how he leads the team in the middle of the order, taking good at bats, sometimes he has some uncharacteristic swings at some bad pitches but with the intent to do damage and be aggressive,” Casas said. “If I ever talk to him about anything, it’s like why do you do something you do, not so much how should I do it?”
“I know he’s somebody that doesn’t like to talk too much but he opened up with me, and I went through that, I went through that when I came up the first time, I needed to make my adjustment and that was the moment he was going through trying to make those adjustments,” Devers said through translator Carlos Villoria Benítez. “So that was my advice for him, to try and help him as much as I can so he could overcome that.”
One of the big issues Casas had early was tweaking his approach at the plate. Teammates and coaches felt he was trying too hard to be a high on-base guy, and the result was a passive approach that wound up resulting in pitchers attacking the zone.
Once he started being more aggressive, Casas started doing more damage and the walks began coming more naturally.
“Walking and on-base percentage isn’t a matter of having a good eye, it’s a matter of doing damage and scaring guys out of the zone,” said fellow infielder Justin Turner, who praised Casas for the progress he’s made. “If you do damage people are going to pitch you more carefully and you’re going to end up walking more. If you’re not doing damage they’re going to throw it over the plate and let you hit.”
The results have been striking. Since May 1, Casas is batting .289 with 15 home runs, 34 RBI and a .912 OPS over 76 games. He’s been especially hot since the All-Star break, and on Wednesday night his towering 431-foot home run helped make the difference in Boston’s 4-3 win.
“I go back and look at my at bats and I feel like I’ve made tremendous strides just the way I’m controlling the zone and then finally when I do get pitches to hit hitting them forward and hitting them hard,” Casas said. “I think I’m getting to that point in the season where stuff is starting to slow down.”
Yet while Casas has gotten much more confident, he still isn’t comfortable and feels he still has a lot to prove to earn his place in Boston long-term.
“It comes down to production, if I’m not producing to the level that I know I can and that I did last month and that I have been the last two, they’re going to find somebody else to do it,” Casas said. “So I need to keep my foot on the pedal and keep going like I haven’t earned anything.”
Barring any last minute changes of plans, the Red Sox plan to activate Chris Sale (stress reaction in shoulder blade) from the injured list on Friday and have him start the series opener against the Detroit Tigers.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora said they hope to have Sale pitch four innings, but even on a limited pitch count he expects the lefty will give them a big lift.
“Just to have him back, that’s huge for us,” Cora said. “We’ll keep progressing from there but to have him tomorrow, that’s going to be very important for us.”
Garrett Whitlock (right elbow bone bruise) is expected to be activated on Sunday. Tanner Houck (facial fracture) was scheduled to start Thursday for the WooSox, and the club hasn’t determined whether or not he’ll need another rehab outing before returning to the majors. Cora was also noncommittal on whether Houck would be used as a starter or a reliever once activated.
Cora said Trevor Story should be back at shortstop on Friday and Sunday, and after Monday’s off-day he’ll play two of three during the upcoming series in Washington. He also confirmed Masataka Yoshida was just given a day off Thursday and isn’t dealing with any issues.
Former Red Sox great Fred Lynn will appear at the 29th annual Oldtime Baseball Game, which is scheduled to take place on Thursday, Aug. 24 at St. Peter’s Field in Cambridge. The pregame program will begin at 7 p.m.
Established in 1994, the Oldtime Baseball Game features a collection of throwback uniforms coupled with period music and local players, and numerous former Red Sox players have participated over the years. Past players include Pedro Martinez, Roger Clemens, Tim Wakefield, Jim Lonborg, Mike Timlin, Lou Merloni, Oil Can Boyd and the late Jim Corsi, and this year Lynn will serve as an honorary manager.
This year’s game will also serve as a fundraiser for The Boston Home, a non-profit residence and national resource for adults with advanced neurological disorders, primarily multiple sclerosis. For more information, visit oldtimebaseball.com and thebostonhome.org.