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 with torn cartilage in his right rib cage. At the time, he was hitting .244 with an .857 OPS, six home runs and 10 RBI in 90 plate appearances.
With Casas out, Dominic Smith got the most playing time at first base. He hit .237 with a .707 OPS, six home runs, 20 doubles and 34 RBI. Smith was designated for assignment to free up a spot for Casas on Boston’s roster.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora hopes Casas can make an immediate impact with his power. He is third in Friday’s lineup.
Last season, Casas hit .263 with an .856 OPS, 21 doubles, 24 homers and 65 RBI in 502 plate appearances. He finished third in American League Rookie of the Year voting.
Casas completed an 11-game rehab assignment with Triple-A Worcester on Thursday. In 47 plate appearances, he hit .300 with a .954 OPS, seven doubles, one home run and seven RBI.
He told Alex Speier of the Boston Globe that he hoped to be pain-free when he returned to the major league roster. He still feels pain when he makes contact with the ball, but can recover between at-bats. The problem is when he hits foul balls, the pain still lingers.
“The pain, fortunately, doesn’t come before the contact. It’s only there at the contact,” Casas said. “The hard part is managing the pain between the throws — the foul balls, getting back into the box.”
The Red Sox enter Friday’s game in third place 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.
