Why Red Sox shouldn't trade Triston Casas in the MLB offseason – NBC Sports Boston

For a guy with obvious 40-homer and All-Star potential, Triston Casas certainly finds himself in a lot of hypothetical trades.

Send him to Seattle to pitch. Get rid of him to make room for Alex Bregman in free agency. The lineup is too left-handed, so someone has to go. He simply blocks Rafael Devers' inevitable move across the diamond. Trade him for a starter and sign Willy Adames. And so on and on.

You can make the case for moving Casas (and I made the case a few weeks ago), but let's discuss the downside: Why the Red Sox should keep him.

Casas has a rare combination of skills. In an age where power still prevails and patience can be the difference between a great lineup and a mediocre one, Casas ticks both boxes.

Even his injury-plagued 2024 saw 30 homers and 75 walks, and that followed a rookie season in 2023 in which he developed into one of the best hitters in baseball over the long haul.

As for patience, his lifetime on-base percentage is more than 100 points above his average, a quick and dirty metric that makes virtually any power hitter viable. Think of Brewers sluggers Gorman Thomas and Rob Deer of yesterday or old friend Kyle Schwarber of today. If you can take a walk and hit a home run, there's a spot for you in the middle of 30 lineups.

But Casas isn't all about home runs and walks. He does everything you would expect from a young hitter and is among the league's leaders in batting speed, walk percentage and chase rate. When he hits, he swings, and when he hits the ball, he hits the ball hard. It's easy to imagine him growing into a Carlos Delgado-style destroyer, and who wouldn't want one of those?

1st inning: 3-run homer to right field
3rd inning: 3-run home run over the Green Monster

Triston Casas is having a great afternoon so far! pic.twitter.com/zTFS2cL8RT

– MLB (@MLB) September 22, 2024

Casas speaks for him all the more because he won't be 25 until January. For an organization desperate to win with elite homegrown talent, Casas and his .830 lifetime OPS are a safer bet right now than even baseball's No. 1 prospect, Roman Anthony. For the Red Sox, trading him when there are other ways to acquire impact pitching feels impatient, counterproductive and contrary to their stated mission.

For one thing, they could swap someone else. Their prospect base is too left-leaning and it's virtually a guarantee that at least one of Anthony, Marcelo Mayer, Kyle Teel and Kristian Campbell will never be worth more than they are now. If Craig Breslow can identify this player or players, now is the time to trade high.

For another, they're still sitting on a pile of money, more than $60 million below next year's luxury tax limit of $241 million. Owner John Henry has long had an aversion to paying 30-year-old starters in free agency, but if he wants to retain his best young players, he could always address the issues at the top of his rotation with cash. Signing Orioles ace Corbin Burnes would cost the team a few hundred million and a draft pick, but no prospects. And what's more important: no casas.

So why the rush to part with someone who hasn't even seen his prime yet? We shouldn't discount the off-field component, where Casas' iconoclasm occasionally elicits a sneer of disapproval from a teammate (for sunning himself half-naked in the outfield) or rebuke from manager Alex Cora (for raising his pain level upon returning from a game) caused a rib injury). Of course, another way to look at Casas' personal characteristics is that he is authentic and fans like men who are real, even if they are a little strange.

In any case, it's not like he's a destructive presence in the clubhouse or a villain who's often on the police dockets. He is simply a free spirit who follows his own pace. That's hardly a reason to break up.

Add in the fact that the Red Sox wouldn't exactly be operating from a position of strength after seeing him in just 63 games last year, and it makes sense to wait and see what he does in a Red Sox uniform before you regret your performance somewhere else.