Boston shortstop Trevor Story hopes for a big step forward next season after a frustrating first two years with the Red Sox. Kevin M. Cox/Associated Press
The first two years of Trevor Story’s $140 million contract with the Red Sox have not gone as planned.
Story has been limited to 137 games by various injuries. His offensive output has declined, bottoming out with a .566 OPS in 43 games at the end of the 2023 season. He has yet to play in a postseason game with the Red Sox. Instead, he has been part of two last-place teams.
Story isn’t hiding from the fact that he hasn’t met expectations after signing the only nine-figure free-agent contract Chaim Bloom gave out during his four years with the Red Sox. In the wake of Bloom’s firing last month, Story acknowledged a feeling of “shared blame.” As he enters Year 3 – and approaches the halfway point of his contract – the soon-to-be 31-year-old is looking forward to moving on after failing to meet expectations so far.
“Obviously, some injuries have happened, and inconsistent play with my performance on the field. I think that’s what’s stood out the most to me,” Story said in late September. “It’s obviously not the start that I wanted to have the first two years of the deal. But I’m really looking forward to turning the page on these last two (years) and look at the next four or five. I know it’ll be a little different story than these first two. Obviously, it’s a frustrating start to the contract and I’m just looking to make some adjustments and then come back being the player that I know I can be for the rest of the way.”
Story’s first two seasons with the Red Sox have been eventful, to say the least. First, in March 2022, came the craziest week of his life, when he signed with the Sox, was introduced in Fort Myers, Florida, then left camp after a couple of days to join his wife, Mallie, for the birth of their first child. That whirlwind, along with an energy-stripping stomach bug in early April, made the adjustment to a new team and league even tougher. Story barely hit in April before getting red-hot in May.
An up-and-down first half of 2022 ended when Story was fooled by an inside pitch from then-Tampa Bay pitcher Corey Kluber and was hit in the knuckles. What was originally ruled as a hand contusion was later discovered to be a hairline fracture that cost him 38 games. He returned in late August for 13 games (and hit well) before a lingering heel bruise ended his season. Story ended the season with a .238 average, 16 home runs and a .737 OPS in 94 games.
In the wake of Xander Bogaerts’ departure, Story was tabbed to take over as the Red Sox starting shortstop when disaster struck. Increasing elbow pain during offseason workouts led to elbow surgery in January that cost Story the first four-plus months of the season. When he returned as the Sox flailed out of contention, he looked excellent defensively but completely lost at the plate. In 168 plate appearances, Story hit just .203 with just 12 extra-base hits.
Trevor Story played just 43 games in 2023 for the Red Sox because of offseason elbow surgery. He struggled upon his return, hitting just .203 and striking out 55 times. Nick Wass/Associated Press
The Red Sox signed Story, who averaged 147 games in his four full seasons in Colorado (and played 59 of 60 in the shortened 2020 campaign), to be a durable fixture in the middle of their lineup. Instead, they have gotten a player who has been hit hard by the injuries. For Story, a workout junkie considered one of the league’s best athletes, the health struggles have led to other kinds of adjustments. Story’s desire to always feel 100% healthy before returning to action has led to some subtle behind-the-scenes disagreements. In August, with the Red Sox falling fast out of contention, he ended his rehab assignment early and was activated three days earlier than anticipated.
“That’s what I’ve hung my hat on, good health and being able to post every day and getting in that rhythm,” Story said. “We haven’t been able to do that these first two years.
“It’s part of the game, man. Injuries are going to happen. No one’s gonna feel sorry for you.”
Neither the Red Sox or Story viewed his right elbow as a ticking time bomb at the time of his signing, there were warning signs. Story missed time in the 2021 season with the Rockies due to elbow inflammation, leading Hall of Fame baseball writer Peter Gammons to report the Red Sox were concerned about the health of his arm. Story’s throwing velocity from shortstop dropped from an average of 79.1 mph in 2021 to 76.1 mp from second base in 2022, 10th-worst among 70 qualified second baseman.
In 36 games at shortstop with a healthy elbow at the end of the 2023 season, Story’s throws averaged 81.2 mph (still 25th percentile but a substantial increase from before surgery). His defense was elite. According to FanGraphs, Story accumulated eight defensive runs saved and eight outs above average (both fourth among AL shortstops) in just 314 innings. Manager Alex Cora frequently cited Story’s glove work as game-changing.
“Looking at the silver linings in this season, that’s huge for me,” Story said, “to put that to rest, being able to play short and do it the way I want and way I know how I can.
“Coming back from surgery, it’s never a 100% thing. But it was a big step for me to go out there and play shortstop and play it well. I think that’s a huge positive of coming back to play this year.”
Story’s offense was a different story. After tearing up the minors on a 13-game rehab assignment, Story struggled with his timing in the majors and started 8 for 43 with 17 strikeouts in his first 11 games. Seeing more major league pitching didn’t help things much. His .566 OPS was worse than the .599 mark Kiké Hernández posted during a terrible four-month stretch to start the season and was just slightly better than what the light-hitting Yu Chang (.552 OPS) gave the Sox in 39 games. The power never came. Perhaps most concerning, in the eyes of Red Sox officials, was Story’s increased swing-and-miss. He struck out in 32.7% of his plate appearances, up from a career average of 28.2%. His 30.6% chase rate raised eyebrows as well.
Both Story and the Red Sox hope the struggles were due to Story not having a spring training and learning to swing with a reconstructed elbow. Again, he didn’t make excuses.
“Inconsistent, for sure,” Story said of his offensive performance. “Just timing-wise, mechanical-wise, I just haven’t felt that comfortable. But this is baseball and those things are going to happen. You’ve got to find a way to compete each night. It’s obviously not up to my standard of what I think I am offensively.”
The Red Sox know they need a much-improved version of Story in 2024 when he will be – barring any big additions – their third highest-paid player behind Rafael Devers and Chris Sale. There’s reason to believe he’s due for a rebound, too, considering he’ll be healthy and will not need to acclimate to a new situation. Story said he hasn’t dwelled on not living up to his contract. What bothers him is that he has not tasted postseason action in Boston after playing just five playoff games in six seasons in Colorado.
“I play this game to win, and I think that’s the thing at the end of the day. I was brought here to be a big part of that,” Story said. “The performance hasn’t been there the last two years, but I think if I’m playing well, then we’re going to have a good shot to win. Being up the middle, just making plays and doing everything I can on both sides of the ball more consistently.”
Cora said Story’s plan to hold an offseason mini-camp with the team’s young infielders this winter is evidence of how serious he is about winning. It’s not lost on team officials that the Sox were 51-43 in games Story played in 2022… and 27-41 without him.
“His interest is to win,” said Cora. “We finished last, last year, and we’re at the bottom of the standings again. He didn’t come here just to play baseball. He came here to win championships.
“He knows he’s a big part of this and obviously, it hasn’t gone the way we envisioned and the way he envisioned. There’s a few things that he’s done… that we do believe are going to put him in a better spot going into the offseason and into next season.
“He’s all in and he wants to be better. He knows that he needs to be better, too, for us to be a good team.”
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