Triston Casas: Red Sox told me none of the trade rumors are true

Triston Casas: Red Sox told me none of the trade rumors are true

Red Sox first baseman Triston Casas’ name has been frequently mentioned this offseason in different trade rumors.

The Boston Red Sox reportedly discussing sending him to the Seattle Mariners for starters Bryce Miller or Bryan Woo, though it was a deal that Seattle general manager Jerry DiPoto reportedly declined; it was also floated recently that he could hypothetically be the name going back for veteran St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado, who has $74 million left on his current contract.

For the first time since the start of the offseason, the soon-to-be 25-year-old first baseman opened up about the trade rumors and is keeping a level head about the process.

“I feel like that’s part of the business of baseball is checking in on players, seeing what kind of value you can get back,” Casas said Saturday at Fenway Fest, according to Christopher Smith of MassLive. “You never know what kind of haul you can get for a player or how much another organization values somebody. So it might be in the best interest to move myself or anybody really if there’s a good enough package. So I think checking in and other teams asking about me and whatever, I see it as a positive. Just that maybe somebody else sees value in myself as well.

“I try not to think too much about it. But yeah, it’s funny to hear my name compared to a lot of great players around the league because I start to think maybe I’m pretty good, too.”

Casas is coming off the worst season of his career, as he was limited to just 63 games after suffering torn cartilage in his left rib cage. He slashed .241/.337/.462 with 13 home runs and 32 RBIs with 77 strikeouts to 30 walks in 243 plate appearances.

He told reporters over the weekend that the Red Sox informed him that the rumors were not true.

“They’ve told me that none of the rumors are true,” Casas said. “So maybe all that other stuff is just clickbait but for right now, they have tried to assure me that they want me to play here for a long time and that makes me feel good.”

This follows a New Year’s Eve report that Craig Breslow denied that the Red Sox were “shopping” him.

“I’ve seen some of the speculation about what deals may or may not have existed, or what may or may not have been proposed, and there was nothing that was remotely close,” Breslow said, according to MassLive’s Chris Cotillo.

Is Red Sox Nolan Arenado’s last-ditch hope for trade?

The idea of selling low on one of the best young first basemen in the sport isn’t a good one. When right, he looks like a top-10 hitter at his position–despite playing half his games in a park that doesn’t favor left-handed hitters. Especially when there’s not a serviceable enough short or long-term solution on the roster not named Rafael Devers, who isn’t a good fielder at his own position.

***

Click Here for more MLB Content

Subscribe to Vendetta’s Twitch

Subscribe to Vendetta’s YouTube

Check out the Vendetta Shop

Check out Vendetta Fantasy Contests