Triston Casas, a 25-year-old first baseman who looked like he was going to be a star at the Red Sox after finishing third in the Rookie of the Year voting, is now at the center of trade rumors. What makes this possible move so shocking is the timing.

Casas has shown real star potential, but has missed 230 games over the past two seasons due to a series of bad injuries. And now, Gordo reports on X, “According to @PeteAbe, other teams have the impression that the Red Sox are willing to trade Triston Casas this offseason.” This update gains weight when examined against Casas’s brutal injury history.

Casas missed 99 games in 2024 because of torn rib cartilage. On May 2, he tore his patellar tendon, which limited him to only 29 games this season. The numbers tell a clear story.

Before his season-ending injury, Casas hit 18 out of 99 times (.182), which is a big drop from the .800 OPS and 45 home runs he had in four seasons. He hit one home run every 18.1 at-bats, which shows the power potential that made him a top prospect. Amid all these, Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow’s comments underscored the organization’s uncertainty about Casas’s future role.

“I don’t think it makes a ton of sense on Oct. 6th to say someone is or isn’t our first baseman and we’ll see how things play out.” Breslow acknowledged back in October that “unfortunately, Triston has missed a significant amount of time over the last two years.” But he also pointed out that Casas is “doing really well” in recovery – he can bear weight and squat during daily rehab sessions – but he wouldn’t promise that he would be fully recovered by Opening Day 2026.

This hesitation reveals a great deal about the franchise’s confidence in building around a player who gets hurt a lot.

Breslow’s way of building a roster shows why trading Casas might be a smart move.

The Red Sox hit 186 home runs, which was the 15th best in the league. Their first base position only hit 16 home runs, which was 22nd best in the league. So, Breslow stressed the need for “an at-bat in the middle of the lineup that forces another team to game plan against it,” particularly noting that “a disproportionate number of runs in the postseason are scored via the home run.”

The Red Sox had a hard time against great postseason pitching, even though they scored 786 runs in the regular season. If they trade Casas, they might get the proven power hitter Breslow wants to anchor a championship-caliber lineup.

Red Sox map out cautious strategy for 2026 roster construction

Breslow’s moves at the GM Meetings in Las Vegas offered a glimpse into Boston’s strategy for filling out its roster. Though he described the yearly meetings as “largely symbolic,” the chief baseball officer laid out his vision for constructing the 2026 team.

“Trading away four really good young players for a starting pitcher is one way of pulling those wins forward,” Breslow noted. There were instances, last year being a prime example, when he had to take such a step. But now, he doesn’t want to be in a situation where they are repeating that process annually, either.

The memory lingers.

Boston dealt away four of its top prospects last year. Kyle Teel, Chase Meidroth, Wikelman Gonzalez, and Braden Montgomery were all given their walking papers, with starter Garrett Crochet taking their place. And this time, too, the Red Sox are actively pursuing top-tier pitchers via trades, eyeing talents such as Tarik Skubal, Freddy Peralta, or Joe Ryan.

Breslow’s remarks suggest a front office grappling with the push and pull of present demands versus future sustainability. As reported by BoSox Injection in October, “Marcelo Mayer, Jhostynxon Garcia, Payton Tolle, Connelly Early, and even Kristian Campbell could potentially be traded. Franklin Arias, Mikey Romero, Brandon Clarke, Kyson Witherspoon, and other top prospects who haven’t debuted could also be in the mix.”

Craig Breslow made it clear back then that “everything has to be on the table.”

This balancing act is especially evident in the Nathaniel Lowe situation.

The Boston Red Sox looked for answers for months after his knee gave out in May. In August, they traded Lowe from Washington. He stepped in and gave them what they needed during the playoff race: a steady veteran presence at a position that only hit 16 home runs all year.

Now, Boston is cutting him loose three months down the line.

Chris Cotillo reports that the team won’t be offering Lowe a contract before the Friday deadline. The numbers are straightforward. Arbitration would net him somewhere between $12.75 million and $13.5 million in the coming year. That’s a significant sum, especially considering his recent performance and the fact that the Nationals released him.

Think about this: Lowe made $10.3 million this year playing for two different teams. It doesn’t make sense to pay him more after a bad year. Cotillo is very clear: “Lowe will almost certainly be cut from the roster, but he could re-sign at a lower rate as he tests the open market.”

The Red Sox hired Lowe to save them. Now he is their most recent failure at first base. They are back where they started, still looking for someone who can really do the job.