Triston Casas sure knows how to win over a fanbase in short order.
Casas, a third baseman who was taken by the Boston Red Sox in the first round of the MLB Draft on Monday (No. 26 overall), spoke with the media after being selected and was asked what he would have to do in order to stick at the position as a major leaguer. The 18-year-old responded by getting in a shot at former Red Sox third baseman Pablo Sandoval.
“Obviously watch my weight,” said Casas, per Mark Feisand of MLB.com. “There was another third baseman in Boston called Sandoval who had some problems. Just stay agile, continue to take a lot of groundballs and keep doing my thing.”
To say that Sandoval, who is now on his second stint with the San Francisco Giants, was unliked in Boston would be an understatement. He signed a five-year, $95 million contract with the Red Sox in 2014 but proceeded to crash and burn, batting just .237 with a mere 14 total homers during his time there. His well-documented weight issues were indeed a big part of his struggles in Boston (leading to some ridiculous stories like this) before he was finally released by the team a few months into the 2017 season.
As for Casas, who is officially listed at 6-foot-4 and 238 pounds, the hope here is that he fares a lot better with the Red Sox than the Panda did.
