BOSTON — Less than 48 hours removed from suffering a season-ending injury during an awkward play around first base, Red Sox first baseman Triston Casas had surgery Sunday.
Casas underwent a successful “left patellar tendon repair,” the Red Sox announced Sunday. The procedure was performed by Dr. Eric Berkson at Massachusetts General Hospital.
On Saturday, Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow confirmed that Casas, who had no other damage to ligaments or other parts of his knee, would need surgery. The procedure was done in short order, beginning what should be an arduous rehab process for the 25-year-old.
“It’s a big loss,” Breslow said Saturday. “In addition to what we think we were gonna get on the offensive side, he was a stabilizing presence and made some nice plays in the field. Also, a big personality and a big part of the clubhouse and the team. He’s going to be missed in all facets.”
Casas suffered the injury in the second inning of Friday’s loss when he was trying to avoid Minnesota’s Ty France while legging out a dribbler down the first base line. He was immediately stretchered off the Fenway Park field and taken by ambulance to a local hospital. Manager Alex Cora said Casas was “in shock” when he first went down.
“The kid, he enjoys this,” Cora said. ”He likes showing up early. We hate that but he loves it. He enjoys cleaning those shoes and staying here until late. He loves baseball. This is what makes him feel comfortable. Right now, he’s not gonna have it for a while but knowing him, knowing his family and knowing the support system that he has, he’s going to be back and he’s going to be good again.
“These guys, they work so hard to post, to have big seasons and all that. He did an outstanding job in the offseason to put himself in that situation. Didn’t start the way he wanted to but he was going to play and play a lot. Now, we have to focus on the rehab after the surgery. Hopefully, get him back stronger than ever and ready to go next year.”
For now, the Red Sox are leaning on internal options Romy Gonzalez and Abraham Toro at first base but an external addition remains possible.
“We obviously started this, this last offseason, trying to be aggressive in putting a competitive team on the field,” Breslow said. “This is unfortunately an opportunity to explore what is available. We’ll look both internally and potentially externally as well.”
