3 Triston Casas replacements Red Sox need to consider after MRI delivers bad news

The Boston Red Sox are going to be without star first baseman Triston Casas for a while.

Casas suffered a rib injury and an MRI confirmed that he is indeed going to miss a significant amount of time, according to Julian McWilliams of The Boston Globe.

There currently is no timetable for Casas to return, meaning that it could certainly be a while before Boston welcomes their star first baseman and slugger back to the lineup. As a result, they may have to look to other options for production at that position.

Here are three players they could trade for to replace him until he returns.

3. Pete Alonso

Pete Alonso is in the final year of his contract with the New York Mets and will hit the free agent market this coming winter barring an extension.

Though the Mets are off to a decent start, it likely will not last too much longer, which means Alonso could be on the move at the deadline.

Without Casas, the Red Sox are missing a significant power presence in their lineup, one that could be filled by Alonso if they decide to make a deal with the Mets.

A lot will depend on how long Casas is out. If he is out for the majority of the season, then a trade for Alonso would make sense. It would certainly cost a lot though, and even after extending Ceddanne Rafaela, the young outfielder may have to be included in any package for a power bat to boost the Red Sox chances at contending in the AL East.

The 29-year-old slugger is hitting .253 and has already crushed seven home runs and driven in 12 runs. In addition, he has an impressive OPS of .847 through his first 22 games of the new seasons.

2. Jose Abreu

Abreu is certainly not off to a good start this season, and neither are the Houston Astros.

The 37-year-old slugger was signed prior to 2023 and has a poor .068 average in his first 59 at-bats. He is also homerless and has only driven in one run while sporting a miserable .223 OPS.

However, a strong track record precedes him, and if the Red Sox need a power bat, they could get one from Houston without having to give up too much.

It's always possible that a change of scenery could benefit Abreu. Plus, the Red Sox wouldn't have to necessarily look at him as a long-term replacement. He could compete for at-bats with guys such as Pablo Reyes, Rob Refsnyder, and Bobby Dalbec.

And if the move fails, Boston could simply have him as a placeholder while they wait for Casas to make his eventual return from the injured list and then cut bait with Abreu. It could be a low-risk, high-reward type situation if he can bounce back too.

Regardless of what happens with the Astros, it looks as though Abreu's days in a Houston uniform are numbered thanks in large part to his early-season struggles.

1. Paul Goldschmidt

The St. Louis Cardinals are at a critical juncture. If they don't overcome their rocky start, then they may end up being sellers at the deadline again and looking at a potential rebuild.

Paul Goldschmidt is in the final year of his contract, much like Pete Alonso. However, at 37, he likely won't cost quite as much as Alonso would if the Red Sox were to give the Cardinals a call.

What St. Louis would want is unclear, but they possibly could use one of Boston's younger bats such as Vaughn Grissom or even a young arm such as Brayan Bello or Tanner Houck. It's unlikely that Boston would trade Tyler O'Neill back to St. Louis after acquiring him this past winter.

Everything does depend however on whether or not the Cardinals can bounce back or how long Casas remains out. Either way, it's unlikely that Goldschmidt will remain in St. Louis beyond the 2024 season. Given his start to the year, the Cardinals may be thinking the same thing.

We'll see if anything materializes over the next few months and where both teams are when the trade deadline comes around at the end of July.