🎙️ Voice is AI-generated. Inconsistencies may occur.
The San Diego Padres are going to be without one of their stars for the foreseeable future.
Luis Arráez was carted off of the field in Sunday night's game against the Houston Astros after colliding with Mauricio Dubón. Arráez served as the DH, with Yuli Gurriel over at first base. Gurriel is a temporary solution, but the 40-year-old can not be the everyday option.
Instead, the Padres could turn to the trade market and pursue Triston Casas from the Boston Red Sox.
Casas hasn't had a great start this season -- hitting just .167 through 72 at-bats. His OPS sits at just .491 with an OPS+ of 41. For context, an average OPS+ is 100, and Aaron Judge holds an on-base percentage of .495.
It's unclear how much longer the Red Sox are going to allow Casas to work through his struggles before making a decision. However, it appears he could certainly benefit from a change in scenery.
There's still some untapped potential with Casas as he's only 25 years old. The Padres have become known as one of the best teams in baseball to develop young players into high-level athletes. They could certainly take a chance on Casas as well.
Through his first 72 at-bats, Casas is striking out 25% of the time. It's not ideal, but it's also not unusual for him either. However, he is drawing a walk just 7.6% of the time. This indicates he's not seeing the ball well in the box.
If the Padres acquire Casas and can sort out his plate vision, they will unlock a talented hitter and make their lineup even deeper in a highly competitive National League West.
More MLB: Pittsburgh Pirates Legend Airs Frustration About Coaching Incompetence
About the writer
Drew VonScio is a Newsweek contributor based in Pittsburgh, PA. His focus is on MLB content. Drew has been with ... Read more