Casas emerging as leader
Triston Casas is hesitant to call himself a leader, but it’s clear he’s becoming one.
How else to describe a player who takes it upon themselves to fly from sunny Miami to frigid Boston just so he can get to know his organization’s top prospects?
That’s how the Red Sox first baseman chose to spend his birthday week.
“I just wanted to come,” he told the Herald. “I would’ve been here sooner if it wasn’t for birthday dinner with my family.”
After celebrating his 24th on Monday, Casas headed north the following day, a bag full of baseball bats as his carry-on item. His winter coat was in his checked bag, which the airline lost, so he showed up to snow-covered Fenway Park on Wednesday wearing shorts and a T-shirt in mid-20s temperatures.
“I love the cold,” the Florida native said. “I don’t even know why I buy jackets at this point, I love the cold on my skin.”
Of course, Casas could experience below-freezing temperatures in a number of places without doing any baseball activities. He chose to come to work during his time off, to get to know the Rookie Development Program participants, and it says a lot about him as a player, person, and member of the organization.
“There’s a lot of players in this locker room that I’m not familiar with, hadn’t even got a chance to meet before today,” he said. “I wanted to be able to connect with them on a little more personal level, and I felt like this opportunity was more constructive for that, was more conducive for a little more one-on-one time.”
The annual Rookie Development Program is a minicamp for the organization’s most promising top-level prospects and young barely-debuted players. In addition to workouts, attendees are taught what to expect in the Majors, undergoing media training and taking part in the type of philanthropy work the Red Sox do around the region. Casas worked out with the group at Boston College, and sat with them in their meetings.
It’s a helpful program, but imagine how impactful an actual big-leaguer’s presence could be for the attendees, especially someone like Casas, who was in their shoes less than two years ago. It’s one of the main reasons he wanted to join them.
“Any kind of advice that I can offer, or help from a player perspective,” he said. “I’m someone who’s kind of going through it, who’s relatively the same age, who’s not too far removed from the minor leagues. I felt like I had some type of good information to offer and maybe out of this whole weekend, it’s just one thing that I say to each person that might shift the meter for one more hit. That’s the difference that we’re looking for. Or I’m looking for, for them.”
When Casas got called up in early September ‘22, several veterans in the clubhouse reportedly took issue with the 22-year-old’s unique pregame routines, which included shirtless sunbathing and napping. Though Alex Cora told reporters, “We had no issues in the clubhouse,” another member of the organization described one former player’s treatment of Casas as “bullying.”
Either way, Casas’ rituals and unabashed uniqueness make him an ideal mentor for up-and-coming players, who may have their own non-traditional methods of going about this very traditional game. “I learned a lot about myself last year,” he said. “Travel, how to handle certain situations. That was what made the learning curve most exciting, was those offthe-field things, as well as the intricacies of the whole package of being a Major League Baseball player.”
Top prospects Marcelo Mayer, Roman Anthony, and Kyle Teel are among this year’s program attendees, and chief baseball officer Craig Breslow recently name-dropped the trio when speaking about the organization’s winning future. “It does start with those three guys, Roman, and Marcelo, and Kyle,” Casas agreed. “That’s catcher, shortstop, center field. You know that to have a good team, you got to be strong up the middle, so if those guys reach the potential that they’re supposed to, there will be a lot of winning going on in Boston for a long time.”
Casas was immediately impressed with the rest of the group as well. “First impressions were that they’re all great people. Very smart, sharp, interactive, ‘look you in the eye’ kind of people, like confrontational,” he lauded. “I think that’s what it takes to be a quality person, not just baseball player. You can just tell they’re intelligent, they’re punctual, I’m guessing that they all got really good heads on their shoulders.”
Casas will still be one of the youngest players on the big-league roster this season, and as is tradition, he’ll defer to older, more veteran teammates. That doesn’t change the fact that he’s developing into a leader of the burgeoning young core. “I wanted to be here, but I’m not gonna say that I wanted to try to be a leader, or try to assert myself amongst the group,” he explained. “I literally just wanted to spend a little more time with Vaughn, and get to meet Kyle and Roman.”
Vaughn is Vaughn Grissom, the big-league infielder acquired in the Chris Sale trade last month. Casas wanted to begin building a relationship with the man who projects to be the starting second baseman this year.
Casas is well aware of the public sentiment surrounding the organization and current Major League squad, but he disagrees.
“I really like it,” he said of the current roster. “I put an everyday Vaughn Grissom, me at first base, and that left side of the field just about up with everybody else. I know the Phillies said that they had the best (infield). Bryce Harper said that they had the best one, but if all of our players play up to their potential, I think we’re right up there with any infield in the league.
“And then you pair that three-headed monster — (Rob) Refsnyder, (Tyler) O’Neil, and (Masataka) Yoshida in left, and then (Jarren) Duran and (Ceddanne) Rafaela in center, and then (Wilyer) Abreu in right field. Our outfield squad is looking really good, and Connor (Wong) and Reese (McGuire) righty-lefty is going to be good, and we’ve made a lot of great additions to the bullpen.
“Maybe there’s another starter that we get filled with for Sale, that could be impact, but I like the roster that we have right now, without sacrificing that big three,” he said of the untouchable Mayer, Anthony, and Teel. “And without getting rid of players like (Nick) Yorke, and adding Grissom. We’re just getting stronger from the inside out.”
“The biggest impression that I’ve gotten from the front office is that they’ll do anything at any time to help us win. Anything to push the needle,” Casas said. “But we don’t want to be a playoff team, we want to be a World Series-winning team. And if we’re not a World Series-winning team, then sometimes, the sacrifices don’t outweigh the risk/reward.”