Boston Red Sox first baseman Triston Casas, who has been rehabbing a rib cartilage tear for the past two months, provided some clarity on what exactly he meant when he said he had been taking “dry swings” throughout his rehab.
Casas spoke with reporters before the Red Sox's game against the Toronto Blue Jays and revealed that he had gotten a clean MRI back and was able to ramp up his rehab and swing for the first time since getting injured.
This was an all-timer of a back-and-forth with Casas. Here's the exchange in its entirety.
Triston Casas says his MRI came back clean and he’s begun swinging at 75%. He also clarified that the “dry swings” he told us about previously was entirely a mental and visualization exercise and didn’t involve any actual “swinging.”
“Just in my mind. Without a bat, just in my head,” Casas said, per Mac Cerullo of Boston Herald. “I’ve taken thousands of at bats in this time, so I feel great, I feel ready.”
Casas continued to explain that the “dry swings” he had claimed to be doing were purely mental exercises: “No twisting, Yeah, no, I wasn't able to do that. But I was able to swing.”
Triston Casas' viral ‘dry swing' comments
When a player says they're taking dry swings, they usually mean they're doing some sort of practice swing without a ball, not just visualizing swinging or full at-bats in their head.
Casas has been making headlines throughout his career for some of his eccentricities, so his latest revelation should come as no surprise.
Whether it's been laying shirtless on the outfield grass before games, painting his fingernails or going viral for a hilarious in-game interview during Sunday Night Baseball, Casas has shown that he is one of the most entertaining players in the league.
One of the more insane in-game interviews you will ever see
Triston Casas' impending return couldn't come at a better time for the Red Sox. Approaching a crucial pre-trade deadline stretch, the Red Sox have been playing their best baseball of the season and are currently in possession of the crucial third Wild Card spot despite getting little-to-no production at first base with Casas out.
Before Casas went down with a rib cartilage tear on April 20, he was one of Boston's best hitters, slashing .244/.344/.513 with six home runs in just 22 games.
Now that Casas has moved on from taking imaginary swings in his head to real ones with a bat in his hands, it shouldn't be too long before he's back on the field.
