Boston Red Sox first baseman Triston Casas hasn't played a game for his team in over three months due to torn cartilage in his ribs that he suffered during an at-bat against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Casas recently began his rehab assignment with Triple-A Worcester, meaning he could be just days or weeks away from returning to the big league club.
On Friday, Casas spoke with two different reporters and provided some confusingly contradicting updates about his health.
“Right now, when I make contact with the ball, it feels like someone’s stabbing me with a knife right in the ribs," Casas told Worcester's sideline reporter Laura Stickells. "Right when it happened I felt like I got shot with a gun, so it’s dulled down.”
That's not exactly something that Red Sox fans or manager Alex Cora is looking to hear, as they're hoping his return can help the team make a run at the playoffs in the coming months.
However, Casas provided a totally different response on the same day to another reporter.
"Every swing is 100% (effort) in there," There was not even a thought in my mind that anything was gonna hurt when I go in there," he told MassLive's Chris Cotillo.
When Casas was asked in that interaction if he was feeling it at all, he originally said he wasn't.
"No, I'm not. In the back of my mind, I'm not holding anything back.," Casas said. "The swing is feeling good. The pain is minimal. I'm ready to keep going and continue this process. It has been a long one. A lot of work still to be done."
It's not clear what's going on with Casas. Is this just another moment of him trolling the media? Perhaps. If it is, it's annoying and unprofessional.
