On Friday, first baseman Triston Casas gave two contradictory updates about how he was feeling as rehabbed a ribcage injury that has sidelined him since late April.
Casas, in Worcester, told MassLive’s Chris Cotillo that he wasn’t feeling any discomfort when he swung. But he also told NESN’s Laura Stickells “It feels like someone’s stabbing me with a knife in the ribs,” when he made contact.
This confused the Red Sox, and, it seems, angered them somewhat. Eventually, through additional conversations, they got a better understanding.
But this isn’t the first time Casas has rankled the club up with some comments.
“Whatever it is, sometimes I read stuff and I’m like: ‘Are we on the same page here?’,” said manager Alex Cora. “I’m the messenger (for the club). Sometimes I BS people or take care of certain things my way, but I’m very accountable in what I try to say. That one caught me off guard. I talked to (head trainer Brandon Henry) and asked, ‘Where are we at?’ He had a good conversation with Triston. He’s fine. Obviously, he will feel it, but it’s not like what he was feeling before he went on the IL.
“The progress has been great. He feels like he’s been progressing the right way. You’ve seen him for a month and a half moving around and taking grounders. It’s all fun and games to a certain point. When I get messages (asking me), ‘Are you guys taking care of this kid?’…I think we’re doing everything the right way. We talked to him and hopefully that’s the end of knives.”
In late June, Casas drew attention when, after saying for weeks that he had been taking dry swings as part of his activities, he confessed that those swings were taken only “in my head.”
“This is very serious,” said Cora. “We want him here — not as fast as possible, but whenever he’s ready. I’m not upset with him. But at the same time, it caught me off guard. Because we have a good way of communicating stuff here and when you read that, you’re like, ‘Oh shoot…what happened here?’ Hopefully that’s the end of it.”