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TORONTO, CANADA – SEPTEMBER 24: Romy Gonzalez #23 of the Boston Red Sox hits an two-RBI single against the Toronto Blue Jays during the first inning in their MLB game at the Rogers Centre on September 24, 2025 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Mark Blinch/Getty Images)

MLB Spring Training has come and gone, and now it’s time for some real big league baseball. For the Boston Red Sox, the onset of the 2026 regular season is a chance to begin to avenge their shortcomings in the 2025 season, when they were eliminated in the Wild Card round by the New York Yankees.

Boston will head into this season with a relatively clean bill of health; about as clean as you can ask for in professional sports. The two big names who won’t begin the season on the field though, are first baseman Triston Casas and utility infielder Romy Gonzalez.

Casas, an enigmatic, talented, but oft-injured player suffered a ruptured patellar tendon in early May last season, and missed the entirety of the remainder of the season.

Gonzalez, who has an undisclosed shoulder injury, will also start the season on the injured list. The 29-year-old had a lingering shoulder ailment at the end of the 2025 season, and got surgery over the winter to repair it.

Red Sox Insider Gives Update on Casas, Gonzalez

According to Red Sox insider Chris Cotillo, Casas and Gonzalez both look poised to make their return to the field in early June. Casas’ timeline is a little bit more clear-cut because he is nearing the end of his long recovery period, while Gonzalez’s timeline has the most potential to fluctuate of any injured Red Sox.

According to MLB.com’s official injury report for Boston, Casas was cleared for baseball activity in mid-March, and will have an extended Spring Training down in Fort Myers, FL, before heading on a rehab assignment to AAA Worcester.

Gonzalez on the other hand, didn’t get surgery until mid-March. While his injury wasn’t as serious as Casas’ the late surgery may mean a longer recovery period for him. Because we don’t know the exact severity of the original injury, he could be back two weeks earlier than projected or a month later.

Hence the potential for his return to fluctuate.

Casas and Gonzalez’s Roles Upon Return

Knowing that both Casas and Gonzalez would miss the start of the season, the Red Sox front office bolstered their infield depth this offseason. First base has been an issue for Boston for years now, largely because of Casas’ inability to stay healthy; last season was a mix of Gonzalez, Abraham Toro, and Nathaniel Lowe at the position after Casas went down.

Because none of those four players will be on the active roster to start the season, Boston went out and acquired Willson Contreras to play the position. His big bat in the middle of the lineup was the biggest selling point for the Sox, but his ability to shift from catcher to first is what really put him over the edge as a perfect trade candidate.

Once Casas and Gonzalez are back, they will both compete for time at first with Contreras, with Casas likely getting priority because it is the only position he plays.

Gonzalez’s return will drastically change the gameplan for manager Alex Cora, who loves playing the matchups; Gonzalez absolutely destroys left-handed pitchers. Expect him to come back and play his typical platoon role once he’s healthy.

Matt Skillings Matt Skillings is a Boston based sports journalist and a graduate of UMass Amherst, where he majored in journalism and communication. Matt covered the UMass men’s ice hockey team for three years for the Massachusetts Daily Collegian. He was also a media intern for the Harwich Mariners of the Cape Cod Baseball League for two summers. Matt has additional bylines with the New England Hockey Journal, the Boston Globe and MassLive. More about Matt Skillings