PITTSBURGH — With Triston Casas undergoing imaging on his ribs after leaving Saturday’s game in the first inning, the Red Sox are making an outside-the-box roster move.
Boston has summoned catcher Tyler Heineman to Pittsburgh ahead of Sunday’s series finale against the Pirates, multiple sources confirmed. Heineman could take Casas’ spot on the active roster if Casas needs to be placed on the injured list. Heineman was scratched from the lineup at Triple-A Worcester for the second half of a doubleheader at Polar Park on Saturday night.
It doesn’t make much sense for the Red Sox to call up a catcher to replace a first baseman, but Heineman is the last position player on the 40-man roster who is healthy and not with the big league club. The Red Sox are carrying 13 position players and already have four others (Romy Gonzalez, Vaughn Grissom, Trevor Story and Tyler O’Neill) on the injured list with another (Rafael Devers) expected to miss Sunday’s game with a bone bruise in his left knee. Heineman, who has played 104 big league games and joined the Red Sox via waivers in early February, would be the third catcher on the roster behind Connor Wong and Reese McGuire. Like Heineman, McGuire and Wong have never played first base in the major leagues.
Heineman will at least give the Red Sox a healthy body and a bench bat for Sunday’s game as they assess other options. If Casas — who left PNC Park before the end of the game to undergo imaging — needs to miss time, there are not many clear replacement options in the organization. Bobby Dalbec, who has been playing third base in place of Devers, is the top option on the 40-man roster, though he is 1-for-26 with 15 strikeouts this year. Outfielder Rob Refsnyder is another potential option after seeing some time (five innings) at first base as part of his rehab assignment at Triple-A earlier this week. There’s no clear replacement at Triple-A with Niko Kavadas, Jamie Westbrook and the injured Gonzalez splitting reps at the position so far this season. Former All-Star Jared Walsh was just designated for assignment by the Rangers and could be an emergency consideration if the Sox look outside the organization. So too could C.J. Cron, who spent most of spring training with the Red Sox before being granted his release at the end of camp.
