John Tomase lays out a new reality for the Red Sox as Baltimore Orioles surge, and they continue to decline in 2022 season.
The Boston Red Sox need help at first base, and prospect Triston Casas is dominating in the minor leagues. So, why not call up the talented first baseman for the rest of the MLB regular season?
Casas is batting .324 with one home run, eight RBI, nine doubles, 11 runs scored and a .439 on-base percentage in 19 games this month for Triple-A Worcester. He nearly hit for the cycle on Tuesday but came up a home run short.
First base has been a disaster for Boston in 2022. Eric Hosmer, Franchy Cordero and Bobby Dalbec are the best options at the position right now. Neither player inspires much optimism offensively or defensively. Red Sox first baseman have hit a lackluster .226 this season.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Boston sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
Tomase: Here's one place where Red Sox are actually winning
Despite the issues at first base, Red Sox manager Alex Cora told WEEI show "Merloni, Fauria and Mego" on Wednesday that calling up Casas is not an option at the moment.
"He hasn’t played enough this year, he didn’t play enough last year," Cora explained. "He went to Team USA to the Olympic qualifier, then he went to the Olympics. It’s part of player development. Yeah, the numbers look great, but there are a few things he still needs to get better (at). I’m not saying or ruling out that he won’t be here, but as of now he’s not an option.
"We want him to get repetitions at that level, keep getting better and keep progressing. He’s going to be a big leaguer. When? I can’t tell you. It might be in 10 days, it might be in three days or it might be next year. But we’re very happy with the progress, and there are still a few things he needs to get better at."
Boston Red Sox
Find the latest Boston Red Sox news, highlights, analysis and more with NBC Sports Boston.
The Red Sox have lost three in a row and sit seven games out of the third and final wild card postseason berth in the American League. FanGraphs' model gives Boston just a 3.1 percent chance to make the playoffs.
Once the calendar turns to September, the Red Sox would be wise to give Casas some at-bats at the major league level. That experience would be valuable for Casas, and give him a foundation to build on entering 2023 when he could make a full-time impact.