Triston Casas seems like a good idea for the Red Sox right about now

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Even in the hours before what would ultimately be the latest debilitating Red Sox loss - a 9-3 defeat at the hands of the Blue Jays - it was the topic of conversation.

Where is Triston Casas?

Eric Hosmer was on the injured list, we had already witnessed what's what when it came to Franchy Cordero playing first base, and, let's face it, this was a Red Sox team that had little to lose.

"From my end, nothing," said Red Sox manager Alex Cora when asked what kind of discussion was had regarding calling up Casas.

"It hasn’t been brought up to me so that’s where we’re at. He hasn’t played this year, he didn’t play last year. That’s the way I see it. He’s still developing. That’s my opinion. He needs to get his reps, keep getting his reps and keep getting better. He was out for three months. So, I think that’s part of the equation. We haven’t talked about that recently. It just felt like Franchy, he’s swinging the bat well, we’ll just see how he goes this week and hopefully, we can get Hosmer back as soon as possible."

Then baseball was actually played, and the Casas conversation only got louder.

For starters, the Worcester first baseman finished a home run shy of the cycle in his latest Triple-A game, putting his OPS at .882 for the season (and at 1.010 for August).

And at Fenway Park, the idea of life without Casas for any part of the final six weeks seemed even more uncomfortable, with the Red Sox now sitting seven games out of a Wild Card spot.

The date in which Casas can now officially qualify for 2023 Rookie of the Year - which could be a potential draft pick windfall - has come and gone, and so has the patience for Red Sox followers to actually witness the first baseman in person.

The team is being cautious due to Casas' development, pointing to his missed time due to an ankle injury. But it would seem the time for the former first-round pick's schooling to be executed at the big-league level.

If Casas is actually going to be part of the equation in 2023, it would seem as though - at this point - every little bit of big-league integration leading up to next season. The mentoring of Eric Hosmer and the Red Sox major league coaches. Exposure to big-league pitching. Understanding the rhythms of a world he hopes is his long-term existence. And, perhaps a bit of a jolt to a team that seems to be peeling off players due to injury, left and right.

Looking for a comp for Casas when it comes to other high school position players drafted in the first-round of the 2018 class? St. Louis' Nolan Gorman, who was taken seven spots in front of Casas (and is 5 months younger), has already played in 72 games with the Cardinals after 1,456 plate appearances in the minors. The Sox prospect has 1,168 plate minor-league plate appearances (not including last year's Olympic run).

The sixth pick in the 2018 Draft, Seattle's Jarred Kelenic, made it to the big leagues last year after being taken straight out of high school. Kelenic, who has bounced up and down from the majors and his six months older than the Sox first baseman, has experienced almost the exact same amount of plate appearances as Casas (1,189). Kelenic has struggled mightily in both of his big-league stints, possessing a .167 batting average and .575 OPS in 500 major league plate appearances.

The difference with Kelenic and Casas, however, might be that the Red Sox actually have waited and haven't done the stop-and-start thing Seattle exposed their prospect to.

Perhaps this promotion will come today, tomorrow or sometime in September. And for now, the Red Sox seem to be prioritizing seeing what Christian Arroyo can occasionally do at first base.

But sometimes timing is everything, and as Tuesday night reminder, the time sure seems right.

"We get one more player in September and we’re still competing, if he’s the guy that should be here to help us win ballgames he’ll be the guy," Cora said before his team's loss. "But right now the way I see it this is the best route we can go and he keeps developing as a player down there and keep getting his repetitions and we’ll see where it takes us."

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Featured Image Photo Credit: USA Today Sports