The Boston Red Sox were dealt a brutal blow Friday night when Triston Casas crumpled to the dirt in the second inning and had to be stretchered off the field with a left knee injury so serious he was taken straight to the hospital. Hours later, manager Alex Cora confirmed what everyone feared: âItâs a significant knee injury.â
Thatâs all the Red Sox have been willing to say as of Saturday morning. But if the scene was any indication â an ambulance ride, immediate tests, and silence since â Casas may be lost for a long time. Possibly the year.
Which leaves the Red Sox without their starting first baseman for the second straight season. And without a clear backup plan.
Internal Chaos: Few Good Choices for First Base
Bostonâs internal options are a mixed bag of utility men, makeshift solutions, and long shots. Romy Gonzalez, who had been platooning with Casas against lefties, will get the first crack. He replaced Casas on Friday and has logged over 60 innings at the position this season.
Beyond him? Not much. Connor Wong started six games at first in 2024, but hasnât seen the position once this year â the club clearly didnât love what it saw. Rob Refsnyder hasnât played there in the majors since 2020 and failed to impress when they tried to revive the idea in Triple-A. Carlos Narváez, a catcher by trade, got some work there with the Yankeesâ Triple-A club last year but hasnât gone near first base in Boston.
David Hamilton and Kristian Campbell â two of the more athletic infielders on the roster â are non-starters. Hamilton has never played first, and the Red Sox are focused on keeping Campbell locked in at second base.
The WooSox? There are some options there. Vaughn Grissom, back from losing the second base competition this spring, has been red-hot at the plate in Triple-A Worcester and has recently added first base to his resume. Grissom is slashing .289 with three homers and an .825 OPS. Nick Sogard has also seen time there and brings switch-hitting versatility, but heâs more depth than difference-maker.
Then thereâs Abraham Toro, a utility man with 365 big-league games under his belt and a .917 OPS in Worcester. Toro might be the best mix of experience and offensive upside the Sox can call on, though he hasnât played a lot of first base at the big-league level.
Veteran catcher Yasmani Grandal is also in Triple-A and could complicate things further. Could Boston recall Grandal, use him behind the plate, and try to slide Wong or Narváez to first? Sure. But itâs convoluted â and reeks of desperation.
What They Wonât Do
Red Sox fans dreaming of seeing Roman Anthony fast-tracked to first base can stop now. The club has already made it clear: theyâre not going to risk the development of their prized outfield prospect just to plug a short-term hole at first. âBoston already said they will not try their top prospect, an outfielder, at first base with the chance to hurt his development,â as Tim Crowley of NESN notes.
And for those asking about Rafael Devers â it seems like a logical option, but it’s unlikely. Devers has been moved off the field entirely, now living at DH, and the Red Sox have shown no interest in rolling him back out to first base.
So that leaves Boston with a mess â internal options are either unproven or uninspiring, and no ready-made answer is waiting in the minors. The front office may have no choice but to get creative â or aggressive â if they want to stay afloat in the AL East.
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