Triston Casas is hesitant to name himself a pacesetter, nevertheless it’s clear he’s changing into one.
How else to explain a participant who takes it upon themselves to fly from sunny Miami to frigid Boston simply so he can get to know his group’s prime prospects?
That’s how the Red Sox first baseman selected to spend his birthday week.
“I just wanted to come,” he instructed the Herald. “I would’ve been here sooner if it wasn’t for birthday dinner with my family.”
After celebrating his twenty fourth on Monday, Casas headed north the next day, a bag filled with baseball bats as his carry-on merchandise. His winter coat was in his checked bag, which the airline misplaced, so he confirmed as much as snow-covered Fenway Park on Wednesday sporting shorts and a T-shirt in mid-20s temperatures.
“I love the cold,” the Florida native stated. “I don’t even know why I buy jackets at this point, I love the cold on my skin.”
Of course, Casas may expertise below-freezing temperatures in a variety of locations with out doing any baseball actions. He selected to come back to work throughout his day off, to get to know the Rookie Development Program contributors, and it says rather a lot about him as a participant, particular person, and member of the group.
“There’s a lot of players in this locker room that I’m not familiar with, hadn’t even got a chance to meet before today,” he stated. “I wanted to be able to connect with them on a little more personal level, and I felt like this opportunity was more constructive for that, was more conducive for a little more one-on-one time.”
The annual Rookie Development Program is a mini-camp for the group’s most promising top-level prospects and younger barely-debuted gamers. In addition to exercises, attendees are taught what to anticipate within the Majors, present process media coaching and participating in the kind of philanthropy work the Red Sox do across the area. Casas labored out with the group at Boston College, and sat with them of their conferences.
It’s a useful program, however think about how impactful an precise big-leaguer’s presence could possibly be for the attendees, particularly somebody like Casas, who was of their footwear lower than two years in the past. It’s one of many foremost causes he wished to hitch them.
“Any kind of advice that I can offer, or help from a player perspective,” he stated. “I’m someone who’s kind of going through it, who’s relatively the same age, who’s not too far removed from the minor leagues. I felt like I had some type of good information to offer and maybe out of this whole weekend, it’s just one thing that I say to each person that might shift the meter for one more hit. That’s the difference that we’re looking for. Or I’m looking for, for them.”
When Casas bought referred to as up in early September ‘22, several veterans in the clubhouse reportedly took issue with the 22-year-old’s distinctive pregame routines, which included shirtless sunbathing and napping. Though Alex Cora instructed reporters, “We had no issues in the clubhouse,” one other member of the group described one former participant’s therapy of Casas as “bullying.”
Either means, Casas’ rituals and unabashed uniqueness make him a great mentor for up-and-coming gamers, who might have their very own non-traditional strategies of going about this very conventional sport. “I learned a lot about myself last year,” he stated. “Travel, how to handle certain situations. That was what made the learning curve most exciting, was those off-the-field things, as well as the intricacies of the whole package of being a Major League Baseball player.”
Top prospects Marcelo Mayer, Roman Anthony, and Kyle Teel are amongst this yr’s program attendees, and chief baseball officer Craig Breslow not too long ago name-dropped the trio when talking in regards to the group’s successful future. “It does start with those three guys, Roman, and Marcelo, and Kyle,” Casas agreed. “That’s catcher, shortstop, center field. You know that to have a good team, you got to be strong up the middle, so if those guys reach the potential that they’re supposed to, there will be a lot of winning going on in Boston for a long time.”
Casas was instantly impressed with the remainder of the group as properly. “First impressions were that they’re all great people. Very smart, sharp, interactive, ‘look you in the eye’ kind of people, like confrontational,” he lauded. “I think that’s what it takes to be a quality person, not just baseball player. You can just tell they’re intelligent, they’re punctual, I’m guessing that they all got really good heads on their shoulders.”
“I really like the culture that we got going on here,” he added. “It’s all going to translate out on the field. If you can’t do the little things right off the field, it’s gonna be hard to do them on. I just wanted to come, and make my impression on them too, because it’s a family atmosphere from the top down. We want to create a tight-knit group, and it starts with showing up and being accountable.”
Casas will nonetheless be one of many youngest gamers on the big-league roster this season, and as is custom, he’ll defer to older, extra veteran teammates. That doesn’t change the truth that he’s creating into a pacesetter of the burgeoning younger core. “I wanted to be here, but I’m not gonna say that I wanted to try to be a leader, or try to assert myself amongst the group,” he defined. “I literally just wanted to spend a little more time with Vaughn, and get to meet Kyle and Roman.”
Vaughn is Vaughn Grissom, the big-league infielder acquired within the Chris Sale commerce final month. Casas wished to start constructing a relationship with the person who tasks to be the beginning second baseman this yr.
“I just met him last week, but I feel like I’ve known him for years,” he stated. “We got along really well… My first impression of him is that I find a lot of my qualities or my personality in him. I think we’re pretty similar personality-wise. I think we have a similar sense of humor. I think he has a lot of characteristics similar to mine in terms of work ethic, thought process, how to go about at-bats and in-game stuff, on the field as well as off the field.”
Casas is properly conscious of the general public sentiment surrounding the group and present Major League squad, however he disagrees.
“I really like it,” he stated of the present roster. “I put an on a regular basis Vaughn Grissom, me at first base, and that left aspect of the sphere nearly up with all people else. I do know the Phillies stated that they’d the very best (infield). Bryce Harper stated that they’d the very best one, but when all of our gamers play as much as their potential, I believe we’re proper up there with any infield within the league.
“And then you definately pair that three-headed monster – (Rob) Refsnyder, (Tyler) O’Neil, and (Masataka) Yoshida in left, after which (Jarren) Duran and (Ceddanne) Rafaela in heart, after which (Wilyer) Abreu in proper area. Our outfield squad is trying actually good, and Connor (Wong) and Reese (McGuire) righty-lefty goes to be good, and we’ve made quite a lot of nice additions to the bullpen.
“Maybe there’s another starter that we get filled with for Sale, that could be impact, but I like the roster that we have right now, without sacrificing that big three,” he stated of the untouchable Mayer, Anthony, and Teel. “And without getting rid of players like (Nick) Yorke, and adding Grissom. We’re just getting stronger from the inside out.”
“The biggest impression that I’ve gotten from the front office is that they’ll do anything at any time to help us win. Anything to push the needle,” Casas stated. “But we don’t want to be a playoff team, we want to be a World Series-winning team. And if we’re not a World Series-winning team, then sometimes, the sacrifices don’t outweigh the risk/reward.”
As for the way he’s approaching the ‘24 season, Casas is sticking with the method. “If you look at the second half of the (‘23) season, I batted .371 with a 1.050 OPS. That’s MVP-type numbers, I don’t know how I’m gonna replicate that,” he stated. “But I’m just gonna keep doing the same things that I’ve been doing.”
“And I had been doing the same things that I was doing in the first half,” he stated. “Baseball’s a funny game. I stuck with my process though, I believed in the work that I had been putting in, and the process that I had been bringing to the game, and the thought processes that I had been bringing to the plate. So, not much change that I’ve made from last year to this year, just really trying to perfect something that will never be possible to be perfected.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com