Triston Casas to miss extended time with rib fracture

BOSTON -- When Triston Casas suffered an injury while swinging during Sunday's Red Sox win over the Pirates, the team didn't know the full extent of the injury. Now they do, and it'll leave Casas sidelined for an extended period.

Manager Alex Cora told reporters on Tuesday in Cleveland that Casas suffered a rib fracture and will be out for a while.

The 24-year-old Casas has been one of the Red Sox' best hitters this season, hitting .244 with an .857 OPS. His six home runs rank second on the team behind Tyler O'Neill (who was reinstated from the 7-day injured list on Tuesday, and he's tied with two others for the team lead in RBIs with 10. Casas also leads the team with 12 walks.

 Cora indicated that Bobby Dalbec will get the majority of starts in place of Casas, and Dalbec has decidedly not been one of the Red Sox' best hitters. He's just 1-for-30 this season (.033) with 18 strikeouts, after hitting a combined .213 over the previous two seasons at the MLB level. Dalbec feasted on Triple-A pitching last year, belting 33 home runs and posting a .938 OPS for the Worcester Red Sox, but he has struggled mightily at the big league level ever since a promising 2021 campaign.

The Red Sox enter their three-game series against the Guardians with a 13-10 record on the year.