Has Resurgent Red Sox Star Finally Conquered Injury Woes?
The Boston Red Sox’s lineup has had a lot of moving parts this year. Between the promotions of Roman Anthony and Marcelo Mayer, the trade of Rafael Devers, and injuries to Alex Bregman, Masataka Yoshida and Triston Casas, Alex Cora has had to get creative on a nightly basis.
For the first time in a while, one position he hasn’t had to worry about is shortstop. Because after three injury-plagued seasons, Trevor Story is finally healthy.
Story, who signed a six-year, $140 million contract with the Red Sox prior to the 2022 season, appeared in just 163 of Boston’s 486 games (33.5%) from 2022 to 2024. He missed roughly two-thirds of the team’s games due to a variety of injuries, which contributed to the Red Sox missing the playoffs in all three of those seasons.
This year, however, he’s finally managed to stay healthy. The 32-year-old shortstop has missed only four games this season, topping 100 games played for the first time since 2021 — his final season with the Colorado Rockies.
The result has been Story’s best season in years. Entering play on Monday, he’s batting .256/.301/.422 with 18 homers, 19 doubles and a team-high 73 RBI. He’s been successful in all 19 of his stolen base attempts and has been solid defensively as well, contributing to his 2.7 WAR total.
While Story was up and down to begin the year as he got back into the swing of things, he’s hit his stride as the season’s progressed. He recently won AL Player of the Week honors and has been productive all summer, slashing .296/.342/.516 with 11 homers, 50 RBI and 10 steals since June 1. After a brief hiatus, he’s back to being one of the best shortstops in baseball.
Story has shown no signs of slowing down during the dog days of August, and he believes his injury woes are finally behind him. Cora doesn’t plan on giving him any more off days this year.
“It’s a good sign, especially just given the past,” Story told The Athletic’s Jen McCaffrey. “But I really feel like that’s behind me now.”
Coming back from injuries isn’t easy, but the two-time All-Star has returned to form this year. His resurgence has impressed Cora.
“He didn’t play for a few years, this (level of play) is not easy,” Cora told McCaffrey. “Not getting repetitions at the big league level is hard. But he kept working, and right now he’s doing an amazing job.”
Story’s been a big reason why Boston is 11 games over .500 and in position to make the playoffs for the first time since 2021. If he can stay healthy and productive down the stretch, there could be even more games for him to play in October.