Recovering Red Sox Slugger Wows With Exit Velocity; Is Return Near?

Boston's first baseman is on the road back to the bigs
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The Boston Red Sox like what they are seeing from their rehabbing first baseman.

24-year-old slugger Triston Casas is known for his powerful bat, and he appears to be returning to his familiar ways amid a long recovery from an ailing ribcage.

On Wednesday, Alex Speier of the Boston Globe reported that Casas’s exit velocity has returned to an elite level.

“Triston Casas hit 3 balls with an exit velocity of 105+ mph today in Triple-A (Worcester Red Sox),” Speier said. “There are 7 instances of this year of Red Sox big leaguers hitting 3 balls at 105+ in one game: Devers (4x), Duran (2x), Rafaela.”

News of Casas returning to strength is empowering for a ballclub fighting for Wild Card positioning at the moment.

Ironically, Boston’s offense has been on fire of late and doesn’t necessarily need Casas, but his imminent return has nonetheless been referred to as a “game-changer” by some.

When will Casas’s return to the big leagues happen, and what will it look like? Also, what does this all mean for Dominic Smith?

Alex Cora will have to answer these questions soon enough, but first, the Red Sox are looking to sweep the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday night.

More MLB: Red Sox Surprisingly Facing Roster Dilemma At First Base: 'Seems Infeasible'


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Colin Keane
COLIN KEANE

Colin Keane is a contributing journalist for "Boston Red Sox On SI." Born in Illinois, Colin grew up in Massachusetts as the third of four brothers. For his high school education, Colin attended St. Mark's School (Southborough, MA), where he played basketball and soccer and served as student body president. He went on to receive a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from Villanova University. Colin currently resides in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.