Rex Sox call losing Triston Casas to knee injury ‘a big loss.’ In a tight early AL East race, here are their options.

BOSTON – For a fleeting moment on Friday night, it seemed like Triston Casas had given the Fenway Park crowd something to cheer about. A check swing from Casas had produced a soft chopper up the first-base line, which Minnesota Twins pitcher Joe Ryan was unable to cleanly field. Ryan’s mishandle allowed the hustling Casas to beat Ryan’s hurried throw to first, prompting a natural roar from the home spectators when the umpire signaled Casas was safe.

But silence quickly followed.

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Casas had stumbled immediately upon making contact with the base, and collapsed to the ground holding his left knee. Multiple medical personnel rushed onto the field as Casas laid on his back on the grass near first base. Casas was lifted onto a stretcher where he sat upright, looking dejected and fearing the worst as he was wheeled off the field and transported to the local hospital. Later, the worst was confirmed: Casas had suffered a ruptured left patellar tendon that would require surgery, meaning his 2025 season is over.

Casas’ injury cast an ominous shadow over an otherwise encouraging 6-1 victory for the Red Sox on Friday, and its impact on the Red Sox roster are still in the earliest stages of being understood. First and foremost — and as Boston players, coaches and president of baseball operations Craig Breslow all stressed in the hours following the injury — this is a devastating stroke of misfortune for Casas the player and the person.

“They put so much effort and work in the offseason to try to play 162-plus, and then something like that happens,” manager Alex Cora said postgame. “That’s the reason we don’t take it for granted. He loves being a big leaguer. He loves it. He loves to come to the ballpark at 10 in the morning and leave at midnight and do his thing. And you know, for now, I think it’s going to be taken away. But I told him, he’s going to be back.”

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“We’re a big family in here that comes to the ballpark every single day together,” third baseman Alex Bregman said. “To see one of your guys go down like that, it’s really tough.”

Since finishing third in AL Rookie of the Year voting in 2023 and appearing primed to anchor Boston’s lineup for years, Casas has had consecutive seasons severely derailed by injuries. Last year, a torn cartilage in his rib cage kept him on the shelf for nearly four months in the middle of the season, and now a serious knee injury has cut his third full major-league season short after just 29 games. For a 25-year-old who has endeared himself to the fan base on and off the field since making his debut in 2022, it’s an especially disappointing setback.

Casas began the season as Boston’s primary cleanup hitter but had moved down to the No. 6 or No. 7 spots as outfielder Wilyer Abreu and rookie Kristian Campbell had both been swinging hot bats, climbing the lineup in turn. But Cora had praised Casas’ at-bats recently, believing that the power-and-patience profile Casas had long been revered was starting to re-emerge. He delivered a walk-off hit against the Chicago White Sox on April 19 and homered in consecutive games the next week. When Casas is going good, he represents an imposing left-handed presence, and a true headache for opponents already tasked with navigating a trio of accomplished veterans in Bregman, Rafael Devers and Trevor Story, plus numerous talented young hitters beyond that.

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“He certainly struggled through the first month but that didn’t change what we believed his production was capable of being,” Breslow said Saturday. “So it’s a big loss.”

That invites the obvious question: what will the Red Sox do at first base without Casas?

Red Sox’s internal options at replacing Casas at 1B

Even before his injury, Boston’s roster already featured a litany of intriguing and evolving puzzle pieces for Cora and Co. to fit together. The infield alignment in particular has been the subject of much discourse and debate ever since Boston signed Bregman in free agency and decided to move longtime third baseman Devers to DH full-time. There was initially speculation that Devers could stay at his natural position while Bregman could shift over to second base, but Boston was committed to keeping the keystone open for top prospect Campbell and understandably viewed the Gold Glove-winning Bregman as the best option at the corner. That decision has thus far looked prudent with Campbell starring as a rookie and Bregman absolutely raking, but Casas’ season-ending injury opens up a gaping hole at first base that raises questions about how the Red Sox should proceed. Interestingly, Cora was quick to dismiss Devers as an option to fill in at first base, insisting that the organization would prefer he continue to focus on establishing his routine as an everyday DH.

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Instead, the Red Sox will lean on some combination of Romy González and Abraham Toro to fill in at first base in the short term. The right-handed hitting González is the quintessential superutilityman, one who has appeared at every position besides pitcher and catcher in the big leagues and has proven plenty capable of hitting left-handed pitching. Toro, promoted on Saturday from Triple-A as the corresponding move for Casas being placed on the IL, has also played all over the diamond during his nomadic big league career. A switch-hitter, the 28-year-old Toro was hitting .310 with Worcester before the call-up and offers a left-handed element for Cora to mix and match with.

That seems to be the plan … at least, for now. There are a few other characters to consider as well. As Campbell continues to impress as a rookie, top prospects Roman Anthony and Marcelo Mayer are continuing to demonstrate why they are so highly regarded with strong showings in Triple-A. But Breslow pushed back against the possibility of moving the outfielder Anthony or the shortstop Mayer to first base in hopes of fast-tracking their impressive left-handed bats to Boston. Anthony in particular has been dominating the competition and should warrant a call-up in the near future, but the Red Sox are already juggling how to work him into the crowded outfield mix, let alone contemplate a possible position switch at such a pivotal moment in his development. Beyond Anthony and Mayer, less-heralded first base options in Triple-A include another utilityman type in Nick Sogard, plus fringe prospects Nathan Hickey and Alex Binelas. Vaughn Grissom, the beleaguered lone return piece in the Chris Sale trade, may also see some increased run at first base.

Then there’s the matter of Masataka Yoshida, the ultimate odd man among Boston’s position player group. Yoshida, who started 98 games at DH for the Red Sox last season and is owed roughly $56 million over the three years remaining on his contract, is recovering from offseason shoulder surgery. Though he appeared in 11 spring training contests and continues to hit — Yoshida was on-field pregame Saturday participating in batting practice as normal — he recently experienced soreness while throwing that has delayed his return to action, which the Red Sox would prefer to be in an outfield capacity with Devers occupying the DH spot. Yoshida is yet another confounding piece for Boston to find room for once he’s ready, but it doesn’t seem like they need to figure that out just yet.

Is Anthony Rizzo a realistic option?

As for external options, it’s not like there’s a prime Albert Pujols sitting out there waiting to be scooped up in early May, but there is one name surprisingly still on the open market that could be worth a flier considering the circumstances. Anthony Rizzo was the starting first baseman for a Yankees team that went to the World Series last year but found no takers this past offseason in free agency despite his stated intentions to continue playing at age-35. He remains unsigned, and represents an especially intriguing option considering his history with Boston having been originally drafted by the Red Sox out of high school in 2007 before being traded to San Diego before making his big league debut. Rizzo’s offensive production had declined sharply in recent years, and the fact that he’s still unsigned suggests teams are wary if he still has much to offer. But Breslow said the Red Sox will consider all options to replace Casas, which may include looking outside the organization, whether it be an unsigned veteran like Rizzo or a trade target to be determined.

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All of which is to say: it seems unlikely that the González/Toro combo will remain Plan A for the duration of the season as the Red Sox seek a return to the postseason. For now, Boston will take a step back and assess all available options. Losing a player like him to a season-ending injury takes a while for all involved to process – expecting all the answers to be revealed instantly is wholly unreasonable. More importantly, the organization is focused on ensuring that Casas gets the care he needs to ensure a smooth road to recovery. And no matter how the Red Sox ultimately decide to replace him in 2025, his absence will be felt.

“In addition to what we thought we were going to get on the offensive side … he’s also a big personality and a big part of the clubhouse and the team,” Breslow said.

“He’s going to be missed in all facets.”