The 2025 MLB season has kicked off in an unusual way for the Boston Red Sox. On the bright side, Wilyer Abreu appears to be making a major leap forward, Kristian Campbell has proven he belongs in the big leagues, and both of the team’s top offseason signings — Alex Bregman and Garrett Crochet — have performed as advertised.
However, the team sits at just 8-9, and several key players have struggled. Rafael Devers started the season with an exceptionally poor stretch. Tanner Houck is still trying to find his rhythm, and Walker Buehler is in a similar spot. Most concerning of all, though, has been Triston Casas’ rough start at the plate.
Heading into Monday’s series against the Tampa Bay Rays, Casas is slashing a disappointing .185/.254/.296 with only one home run and three RBIs across 15 games. His WRC+ of 51 ranks 153rd out of 177 qualified hitters, and his -0.4 fWAR ties him for 164th. Statistically, he’s been among the least productive regulars in baseball — a troubling development.
His struggles have prompted the Red Sox to drop him from the cleanup spot to sixth in the batting order for Sunday’s game, a position he remained in on Monday. While it’s typical to see him lower in the order against lefties, both of these games were against right-handed pitchers, underscoring just how far he’s fallen.
Red Sox lineup in Tampa:
Duran LF, Devers DH, Bregman 3B, Abreu RF, Story SS, Casas 1B, Campbell CF, Hamilton 2B, Narváez C
(via Chris Cotillo, April 14, 2025)
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Red Sox are stuck riding it out with Casas
It’s one thing for Casas to have a slow start, but nearly three weeks in, the issues appear deeper than bad luck. According to Baseball Savant, he’s in just the 24th percentile in average exit velocity and 21st in hard-hit rate. He’s not smashing balls into gloves — he’s just not making good contact.
Considering how rough it’s been, it wouldn’t be shocking if Boston considered other options at first base. But therein lies the problem — they don’t really have a viable replacement.
Could they shift Rafael Devers over? Call up Vaughn Grissom, who’s dabbled at first in Triple-A? Use someone like Romy Gonzalez regularly? None of these alternatives are particularly appealing.
Ultimately, the Red Sox likely have no choice but to stick with Casas. He has proven potential as a middle-of-the-lineup threat — he was a Rookie of the Year finalist in 2023 with 24 homers and 65 RBIs. Even with last season cut short, he still managed 13 homers in 63 games.
When Casas is locked in, he hits the ball with authority. That version of him hasn’t shown up yet this year, but given the lack of better options, the Red Sox need to stay patient and hope he turns things around. It may be rough now, but if Casas finds his groove, he could still be a game-changer.