Red Sox’ Triston Casas downplays being named in offseason trade rumors
“They’ve told me that none of the rumors are true. Maybe all that other stuff is all clickbait.”
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The Red Sox have publicly denied making first baseman Triston Casas available in trade talks this offseason.
Reports from MLB insiders over the last few months tell a different story.
Regardless, Casas doesn’t sound too worried about the swirling rumors.
Speaking with reporters during the team’s “Fenway Fest” on Saturday, the 24-year-old (who turns 25 on Jan. 15) said he’s received assurances from Boston’s brass that they want to keep him on the Red Sox.
“They’ve told me that none of the rumors are true. Maybe all that other stuff is all clickbait,” Casas said (via MassLive’s Chris Cotillo). “For right now, they’re trying to assure me they want me to play here for a long time. … They bring it up to me jokingly, almost.”
Dating back to the end of last season, Casas’s name has appeared in several trade rumors. His name is often listed as a player that the Red Sox are attempting to trade in exchange for pitching.
For example, Casas has reportedly been on the table during trade talks with the Seattle Mariners in potential swaps for starting pitchers such as Luis Castillo, Bryce Miller, and Bryan Woo.
Casas was also reportedly slated to be dealt to the Mariners a separate time this offseason. He was on the table to be sent to Seattle alongside teammate Masataka Yoshida in a salary-clearing attempt in exchange for Castillo.
“I try not to get too caught up in it,” Casas said on Saturday (via NESN’s Tim Crowley). “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. You never know what kind of haul you can get for a player or how much another organization values somebody. It might be in the best interest to move myself or anybody really if there’s a good enough package.”
Following Boston signing starter Walker Buehler last month, Cotillo reported that Casas is unlikely to be dealt, as the team seems pleased with its pitching staff.
Casas and his Boston bosses negotiated a contract extension last offseason, to no avail. The Red Sox offered him a deal, which Casas’s party turned down, he explained last March.
The left-handed hitter said he’s hopeful to resume extension discussions as spring training looms.
“Hopefully I put up some numbers, and we get back to contract extension talks,” Casas said on WEEI (via RedSoxStats on X). “The Sox were my first team and hopefully my last. I play for the six letters on my chest.”
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