Red Sox' Triston Casas, Jack Lopez Will Play For USA In Olympics
BOSTON (CBS) -- USA Baseball announced the roster for the upcoming Olympic Games in Tokyo, and two members of the Red Sox organization were included.
Prospect Triston Casas and minor league utility man Jack Lopez were named to the 24-man squad for Tokyo.
The team that will bring home Olympic gold #ForGlory????????
— USA Baseball (@USABaseball) July 2, 2021
See you in #Tokyo2020: https://t.co/L9ApiIgXxK pic.twitter.com/51LEnyte85
Notably, Red Sox prospect Jarren Duran did not make the roster. The outfielder is hitting .278 with 15 home runs in 39 games for Triple-A Worcester this season.
…a player, Olympic team elected not to include him on the roster - for the same reason that the team doesn't feature members of 40-man rosters. Duran is de facto big league depth at this point, very likely to reach the big leagues at some point this year.
— Alex Speier (@alexspeier) July 2, 2021
Casas, 21, was the Red Sox' first-round pick (26th overall) in 2018. The Florida native is in Double-A this year for the first time, and he's hitting .275 with a .770 OPS. A first baseman, the 6-foot-4 Casas has four home runs, three doubles, and two triples in 36 games for Double-A Portland this season.
Lopez, 28, debuted in the minor leagues in 2012 but has yet to reach the major leagues. In 33 games for Triple-A Worcester this year, he's hitting .336 with an .802 OPS. He's also hitting .421 with a 1.213 OPS in Double-A Portland. Lopez has primarily played at second base and third base in his career, but he's spent some time at every position except first base and catcher.
Dave Wallace, who was the Red Sox' pitching coach from 2003-06, will be the pitching coach for the Olympic squad.
Baseball is back in the Olympics for the first time since 2008, when the U.S. won bronze. Team USA will begin its bid for a medal on July 30 against Israel.