The Boston Red Sox are expected to activate first baseman Triston Casas for Friday night’s game against the Baltimore Orioles. reports Chris Cotillo of MassLive.
Casas, 24, has been on the injured list since April 21 after suffering a torn cartilage in his right rib cage. At the time, he had a .244 batting average with an .857 OPS, six home runs and 10 RBIs in 90 at-bats.
With Casas out, Dominic Smith got most of the playing time at first base. He batted .237 with a .707 OPS, six home runs, 20 doubles and 34 RBIs. Smith was designated for assignment to make room for Casas on Boston’s roster.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora hopes Casas can make an immediate impact with his hitting ability, and he’s scheduled to bat third in Friday’s lineup.
Last season, Casas posted a .263 batting average with an .856 OPS, 21 doubles, 24 home runs and 65 RBIs in 502 at-bats, finishing third in the American League Rookie of the Year voting.
Casas finished an 11-game rehab assignment at Triple-A Worcester on Thursday. In 47 at-bats, he posted a .300 batting average with a .954 OPS, seven doubles, one home run and seven RBIs.
He told Alex Speier of the Boston Globe he hopes to be pain-free when he returns to the major league roster. However, he still feels pain when he touches the ball but can recover between at-bats. The problem is when he hits foul balls and the pain still lingers.
“The pain, fortunately, doesn’t occur before contact. It only occurs during contact,” Casas said. “The hardest part is dealing with the pain between shots – the foul balls, getting back into the box.”
The Red Sox enter Friday’s game third in the AL East with a 63-57 record after losing six of their last eight games. Boston is also 2 1/2 games out of the AL’s final wild-card playoff spot.
