Triston Casas admits he's still playing through pain in return

Casas missed nearly four months due to a rib cartilage tear.

Triston Casas played in his first game since suffering a rib injury on April 20. AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez

Triston Casas made his return to the Red Sox lineup on Friday after missing nearly four months of major league play due to a rib injury.

Even though the first baseman is back in the lineup, that doesn’t mean he still feels great. Casas explained that he still has some pain from the rib cartilage tear, but he feels he can still play through it.

“It’s good enough to come out and play 100%,” Casas told reporters prior to Friday’s game, via MassLive’s Chris Cotillo. “My bat speed numbers are back to where they were before. That was what I was worried about the most, whipping the bat around at major league speeds. I’m right back to it. The pain is what it is. It’s not going to bother me from playing the game that I need to. That’s what I wanted most. That’s when I knew I was ready to come back, when I knew it wasn’t going to be a factor as to whether my result was based on an amount of discomfort.

“It’s tolerable, it’s manageable. It’s not going to be a reason why I don’t play well. It’s going to be 100% soon. I don’t know when but it’s not going to affect the play on the field. It’s going to be fine moving up.”

Casas has had an interesting road to getting back to the majors since he suffered the rib injury on July 20. He initially set goals to be back in the Red Sox’ lineup in late June before pushing back the goal date to early July.

As Casas stopped setting target dates for a return, Alex Cora gave an ominous update that suggested the first baseman might not return until the end of the season. However, Casas turned a corner and began his rehab stint with Triple-A Worcester in late July.

Still, Casas didn’t feel great during his first days on his rehab stint. He said that it felt like “someone’s stabbing me with a knife right in the ribs” whenever he swung.

Casas’s status improved though. He wound up hitting .300 with a home run and seven doubles in his 11-game rehab stint.

Now that he’s back in the majors, Casas said there’s one thing he learned about himself during the process to return.

“That I’m one tough son of a [expletive], for sure,” Casas said. “I go out and put my best foot forward to get better every single day, pain or not. I want to get back on this field. I’m hungry and I want it really bad for these guys. However I’m feeling aside, that’s what’s most important to the team.”

While Casas had a quiet day at the plate on Friday, he and the Red Sox hope that is more of an anomaly. There’s good reason to believe that as he hit .244 with six homers in 22 games this season before getting hurt. He also hit well in the final months of the 2023 season, posting a .317 batting average and a 1.034 OPS to go with 15 homers in the 54 games following the All-Star break.

So, Casas isn’t sounding any alarms, downplaying whatever pain he’s dealing with.

“It felt like the pain was minimal enough to get back and help this team win,” Casas said. “Every game matters. We don’t know which one is going to make the difference. I was trying to come back as soon as possible because every win matters just as much as the next one. I’m really looking forward to it.”