The key to first base in 2026 for the Boston Red Sox might be a pitcher who hasn’t appeared in an MLB game since 2022. And it all ties back to a nasty injury that took place on Aug. 20, 2014.
Confused?
It was 11 years ago, in a game at Fenway Park, when Garrett Richards, then the top pitcher of the Los Angeles Angels, was carted off the field with a patellar tendon tear in his left knee. After offseason surgery and a grueling rehab, Richards would return by mid-April of the 2015 season, and he went on to pitch 207.1 innings, which ranked ninth in the American League.
Fast forward to May 2 of this year. Red Sox first baseman Triston Casas suffered a significant injury to his left knee trying to beat out an infield grounder and had to be taken off the field on a stretcher. Diagnosed with a ruptured patellar tendon, Casas underwent surgery and is currently in the grueling rehab process.
Fortunately for Casas, he had someone he can talk with about the path he would be traveling down. Richards, who pitched for the Red Sox in 2021, reached out to Casas after he was hurt, and Casas said the conversations between the two have been invaluable as he deals with the aftermath of his season-ending injury.
“He’s been a big help to me mentally, walking me through everything that I was going to feel and stuff,” Casas said. “So I’m really grateful for him and his messages, his kind words to me. He’s been awesome in this.”
Former MLB Pitcher Garrett Richards Helps Triston Casas Through Rehab
Those talks have played a big role in keeping Casas optimistic about where he strives to be when the 2026 season begins.
“My goal is to be ready for Opening Day and to play first base,” he told Peter Abraham from The Boston Globe. “I’m going to do everything I can to get there.”
And Casas knows having that positive mindset is an important part of getting where he wants to be.
“I know there’s a lot of healing that’s done outside of the training table, so I think just trying to take it one day at a time,” he said.
“Considering everything that’s happened, I’m in a good head space. Just focused on making a healthy comeback, progressing every day in whatever fashion it is. Trying to fill my time and get there any way that I can.”
Casas said it also helps to know that he has some of the best people helping him as he goes through the recovery process.
“I’m confident in our staff that they’re going to get me back to playing at the level that I need to be,” he said.
“I talked to my surgeon, and he said that per the injury, it was almost the best-case scenario, just with how everything almost completely detached. I think once you’re dealing with having to mend back tendons together, you’re dealing with microfibers. But to have a complete rupture is almost the best-case scenario. They said that I’m going to make a full recovery.”
That would certainly be the best-case scenario for the Red Sox looking ahead to 2026.
Triston Casas Optimistic of Return to Boston Lineup for Opening Day in 2026
Casas, who will turn 26 in January, was earmarked for everyday status entering the 2025 season after previously serving as the left-handed half of a platoon situation. In the wake of his injury, the patchwork tag team of Abraham Toro, Romy Gonzalez and Nick Sogard served its purpose for a while, but that was no long-term answer, and the cracks have already started to show.
The Washington Nationals provided a solution for the rest of this season with the release of Nathaniel Lowe, who was added to the Red Sox roster earlier this week. But there’s a reason that the 30-year-old Lowe was let go, and the idea of bringing Lowe back in 2026 after the struggles he has had in 2025 seems very unlikely.
So a renewed and re-energized Casas may just be best for everyone.
“I had a lot of goals for myself this year that I’m not going to be able to accomplish, so back to the drawing board,” Casas said. “I’ll have a full offseason to recover, get back to the caliber of player I hope I’m being, and let’s try to attack it next year.”
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post A 2014 Injury Could Decide Boston’s 2026 Roster Plans appeared first on Heavy Sports.