Red Sox’ Triston Casas diagnosed with patellar tendon rupture

The diagnosis of Triston Casas’s knee injury is as severe as the Red Sox expected.

Casas suffered a patellar tendon rupture in his left knee in Friday’s 6-1 win over the Twins, the Red Sox announced Saturday. He was placed on the 10-day injured list as a result.

The Red Sox first baseman suffered the scary injury when he beat out a throw to first base after hitting a weak groundball in the second inning. While Casas tripped over Twins first baseman Ty France’s leg, he appeared to be falling down as he approached the base. Casas remained down for several minutes before getting stretchered off.

Alex Cora was blunt in sharing his fears over the injury as Casas was hospitalized.

“It’s a significant knee injury,” the Red Sox manager told reporters. “He’s at the hospital right now getting more tests and all that stuff. We’ll have more information tomorrow.”

Even though the Red Sox placed Casas on the 10-day injured list, most professional athletes who suffer a patellar tendon rupture are out for several months. Mets closer Edwin Diaz was the most recent notable example of an MLB player suffering the injury, missing the entire 2023 season after needing surgery to repair his patellar tendon in March of that year.

In the event that Casas is out for the remainder of the season, that would serve as a significant blow to the Red Sox. He hasn’t hit too well to start the season, hitting .184 with a .585 OPS and three home runs in 28 games. But Casas had been one of the Red Sox’ top hitters over the last two years, hitting .276 with 28 homers in the 117 games he played in between the All-Star break in 2023 and the end of the 2024 season.

The injury also marks another setback for Casas in his young career. He missed over three months last season due to a rib injury. He also suffered a high ankle sprain when he was with Triple-A Worcester in 2022, which likely delayed his MLB debut.

The Red Sox don’t have many great internal options to replace Casas at first for the long haul, either. Romy Gonzalez seems to be a likely candidate to replace Casas at first in the interim, while catcher Connor Wong is the only other player on the roster with experience at the position.

The Red Sox added a candidate to the pool on Saturday, promoting Abraham Toro to replace Casas’s spot on the roster. A utilityman, the 28-year-old Toro has made five starts at first base for Triple-A Worcester this season. He’s hit .310 with seven doubles, two triples, and two home runs this season.

In the minors, the Red Sox have given Vaughn Grissom some time at first base. But he’s only played four games at the position with Triple-A Worcester. Alex Binelas, who is not a member of the 40-man roster, has played 127 games at first base in his minor league career.

Boston could also move someone on its current roster to the position, like Rafael Devers. It was rumored in the offseason that the Red Sox thought about moving Devers to first base before making him their primary designated hitter. The Red Sox ruled out giving top prospect Roman Anthony time at first base earlier in the week.