What to Do About Casas and Yoshida
“There are no good choices, only those you can live with, and those you can work to change” -Kanin
It’s starting to look like Craig Breslow is not going to move one of his four outfielders. This will probably (and should) result in each of them playing every day. The projection is Roman Anthony in left, Ceddanne Rafaela in center, and Wilyer Abreu in right. That gives you your best everyday defensive outfield. Jarren Duran will probably be the swing OF and DH, spelling the other three at times. Personally, I hope his time in the OF is limited because he is clearly the worst defender of the four.
The Red Sox acquired Willson Contreras to be their starting first baseman this offseason. He is a good hitter and a solid defender. Given the defensive hijinks at 1B in recent seasons, this is a welcome addition and solidifies the position.
These moves (and non-moves) would seem to indicate that Triston Casas and Masataka Yoshida not only don’t have starting jobs but are questionable to make the opening day roster. Casas is coming off a major injury and will most likely start the year in the minors, but what are his prospects once he is back at full strength?
Yoshida could possibly be a bench player at the major league level, but why would the Red Sox need a backup DH or a fifth OF? Major league rosters only have 4 backup position players, typically one catcher, 2 infielders, and one outfielder. Are you sure you want to take up one of those spots with Yoshida?
Before the Casas and Yoshida Enjoyers come at me, what evidence do we have that either of them deserves a starting job in the major leagues? They both have injury histories. They both have shown brief flashes that convince people that they are “turning the corner.”
Triston Casas
In four seasons, Casas has played over 100 games once, in 2023. That was the year that his second half caused people to believe he was the second coming of Albert Pujols.
Casas’ numbers in 4 seasons are decent, with a .348 OBP and .800 OPS, but if you remove that second half of 2023, his numbers look very pedestrian, with a .328 OBP and .734 OPS. He also strikes out at a relatively high 27%. The one good thing about him is that he does hit LHP as well as he hits RHP, eliminating the need for Alex Cora to platoon for him. Defensively he is not very good either, with a -11 career DRS.
Masataka Yoshida
Yoshida has played 3 seasons with a relatively pedestrian .762 OPS. He doesn’t strike out a lot, but what he does is hit weak ground balls to 2B. A lot of them. He is also bad against LHP, which means that if he does DH, he can only do that against RHP. Do we really need a platoon at the DH position? Who would be his RH counterpart, Romy Gonzalez? Romy might be the starting 2B for all we know. It just doesn’t make sense for him to be on the team. So, what are the options?
The Worcester Red Sox
This is most likely where Triston Casas will start the year. He needs to rehab and work himself back into playing shape. If he performs well, it’s possible he could come up to the big club later in the season, but in what role? The Red Sox don’t need another backup 1B unless of course there’s an injury. Yoshida could also start the year in Worcester and probably should.
Trade
We suspect Craig Breslow has been trying to include Casas and Yoshida in trade packages for awhile now. There have been no takers, and why would we be surprised? Casas has three more years of control and his salary for 2026 is a very team friendly $1.6M, so why hasn’t a team taken a flyer on him? I think teams might be waiting on how he responds to his return from a very gruesome knee injury. If he comes back healthy and can hit in the minors, Breslow might find a trading partner.
Yoshida’s situation is much bleaker. He is owed $18M over the next two seasons. I doubt any team would take that on unless the Red Sox eat a big chunk of it. He just isn’t a good enough hitter and can’t play the OF.
Designate For Assignment (waivers)
The Red Sox wouldn’t do this for Casas due to his years of team control and low salary, but it is a definite possibility for Yoshida. In this case, the team eats his entire salary unless another team picks him up from waivers. In that case, the Red Sox would only be responsible for his salary less what his new team is paying him, however in these cases the player typically gets the league minimum salary.
I think Breslow needs to continue to explore the trade market, but if he hasn’t been able to move either player to date, the chances of this are slim. I think the best bet for Casas is to start him in the minors in the hopes he becomes a viable major league player again. Then Breslow could move him for a prospect or two.
I think Breslow needs to bite the bullet and DFA Yoshida. The only reason why he wouldn’t do that would be a directive from ownership that the Red Sox no longer eat bad money. So, at that point he plays in Worcester or sits on the major league bench. Neither of these options are great.
Hopefully, the acquisition of Willson Contreras works out and solidifies a position that has been a mess over the last couple of seasons. As far as the OF goes, I’m fine with a rotating DH as long as Alex Cora doesn’t feel the need to platoon Abreu or Duran. That could be a mess as well. Either way, it is clear to me that neither Casas nor Yoshida should be on the opening day roster.