Red Sox infielder to begin season on IL, miss Opening Day: report

Triston Casas’ long road back to the major leagues from a fluke injury last year will extend a little longer.

According to Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic, Casas is still not ready to play spring training games, and he’ll likely keep rehabbing his knee into April.

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While the Red Sox return to Boston in a matter of days — Opening Day is March 26 against the Reds in Cincinnati — Casas will either remain in Florida at extended spring training or meet with a Red Sox affiliate’s medical staff before playing in games.

“I don’t have a plan to start Opening Day with an affiliate,” Casas said, according to McCaffrey. “I haven’t discussed with the team if they want me to continue rehab at a facility up north at an affiliate. We haven’t discussed where I’ll be in April, but we’re taking it week by week.”

Casas ruptured his patellar tendon last May running out a ground ball in a game against the Minnesota Twins. The injury not only required season-ending surgery, it set in motion a chain of events that led the Red Sox to trade star infielder Rafael Devers to San Francisco.

Casas, 26, is a career .241/.348/.452 hitter across four MLB seasons (2022-25) with the Red Sox.