The Boston Red Sox weren’t prepared to lose Triston Casas for the season due to a knee injury. In the wake of Casas being stretchered off the field and now sidelined for the rest of the 2025 season with a ruptured patella tendon, the Red Sox brass can’t quite figure out how to navigate the hole in the rotation. Craig Breslow is saying one thing and Alex Cora is saying another.
In the hours after the Red Sox lost their everyday first baseman, Breslow reportedly didn’t rule out Rafael Devers making a move from DH to first baseman, at least in an interim status to see how he looks. Cora on the other hand, shut that down.
I don’t want to say the two are at odds, but for them to say conflicting things, especially this early on, it’s not ideal. That said, what are the Red Sox’s best options moving forward? Injuries aren’t ideal by any means. Casas wasn’t having a great 2025, slashing just .182/.277/.303. Clearly, though, there’s no easy answer to replacing him.
The Red Sox have options for first base replacements, but which direction will Alex Cora take?
The most obvious solution is moving Rafael Devers to first base. But he was moved to DH for a reason, right? The Red Sox went and got Alex Bregman because they wanted better defensive production from the hot corner. Devers was more relegated to DH rather than strategically moved.
When you take into account it took him nearly 20 at bats to get his first hit of the season, well, I see Cora’s reservations. But what’s left?
Well the obvious choice is keep Romy Gonzalez as the interim option while seeing if there’s anybody else worth working into the lineup. There’s also the thought of calling up Anthony Roman, even though it is viewed as being unlikely.
Roman is the No. 1 prospect in the Red Sox organization and there’s a lot of anticipation for when he’s going to make his MLB debut. I know Kristian Campbell has been the talk of the squad with all the hype surrounding him. But is this Cora’s perfect chance to bring Roman up.
Sure there’s a logjam in the outfield, but the Red Sox have all the reason to start experimenting with new lineups and players in the rotation. This season isn’t a lost cause yet, but this could be the chance the Red Sox have to go full-send on their youth.
After all, they rebuild through their farm system for a reason. Now it’s time to show that reason, more than ever. Losing Casas isn’t ideal, regardless of the type of season he was having. But how they make the most of it will determine if their youthful rebuild was worth it.