Triston Casas explains why now was the time for his return
BALTIMORE - Triston Casas wasn't quite sure when he would be back ... until he knew.
"(Thursday night), after my first at-bat (in Worcester), something just popped in my head and told me I was ready to go," Casas said. "Nothing more than that. Literally in the middle of the game, I told the trainers, ‘I'd be OK if this was my last game.’ So they were OK with that decision as well. And, you know, the process happened fast, and I was here a couple hours later."
Casas would ultimately board a flight from Boston Friday morning and arrive in Baltimore mid-afternoon, in plenty of time to find himself in a major league lineup for the first time since April 20.
The return ended days of speculation as to exactly when Casas might be returning from his rehab stint, which had to come to a conclusion by Sunday.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora had repeated throughout the past week that the first baseman had physically recovered enough from the cartilage tear in his ribs to play, but the player's confidence in his timing was going to define the timeline.
And while Casas did admit the discomfort hasn't completely left, he explained that he had landed in a spot that was certainly good enough to help the big league team.
"My bat speed numbers are back to where they were before," said Casas, who got in 47 plate appearance with Triple-A Worcester, hitting .300 with a .954 OPS. “That was what I was worried about the most -- whipping the bat around at Major League speeds. And I’m right back to it. The pain is what it is. It's not going to bother me from playing the game that I need to. And that's what I wanted most.
"That was when I knew I was ready to come back was when I knew it wasn't going to be a factor as to whether my result was based on an amount of discomfort. It was tolerable. It's manageable. But it's not going to be a reason why I don't play well."
So, what did Casas learn about himself during his time away?
"That I’m one tough son of a (expletive), for sure," he said. "I go out and put my best foot forward to get better every single day, pain or not. I want to get back on this field. I’m hungry and I want it really bad for these guys. However I’m feeling aside, that’s what’s most important to the team."
