Rafael Devers, Triston Casas named Silver Slugger finalists
This is Casas' first-ever nomination for this award, and Devers' third-straight.
The Boston Red Sox have several areas of improvement, but their offense is certainly not one of them.
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Third baseman Rafael Devers and first baseman Triston Casas have been named as finalists at their respective positions for the 2023 AL Silver Slugger Award, MLB announced on Thursday.
This is Devers’ third consecutive Silver Slugger nomination. If he wins, he will receive the second Silver Slugger Award of his career (2021). This season, Devers batted .271/.351/.500 with 33 home runs and 100 RBIs, which led the Red Sox in both categories.
Devers will have to beat Houston’s Alex Bregman, Cleveland’s José Ramírez, and Tampa Bay’s Isaac Paredes to win this award. Devers, Bregman and Ramírez have won the last six AL Silver Slugger Awards among AL third basemen (Ramírez: 2018, 2020, 2022, Bregman: 2019, Devers: 2021), and Paredes’ breakout season that saw him hit .250/.352/.488 with 31 home runs and 98 RBIs launched him into the group of elite hitters at third base.
Casas’s rookie season started slowly, but he picked up his pace by the time summer hit. He batted .348/.442/.758 with seven home runs and 13 RBIs and earned the AL Rookie of the Month award for his efforts. He only became more dominant from there, as his 1.034 OPS+ in games played after the all-star break ranked fourth among all major leaguers.
He finished his season as one of the Red Sox’ most important hitters, batting .263/.367/.490 with 24 home runs and 65 RBIs.
This is Casas’ first-ever nomination for the Silver Slugger award, joining a group of mostly first basemen who have never won the award. Only Texas’ Nathaniel Lowe won a Silver Slugger prior to this year (2022), as Tampa Bay’s Yandy Díaz and Detroit’s Spencer Torkelson would be first-time winners like Casas would.
If Casas wins this award, he would be the first Red Sox first baseman to do so since Adrían González in 2011, and just the third to ever do so along with Mo Vaughn in 1995.
The winners will be announced on MLB Network at 6 p.m. ET on Nov. 9.
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