The Boston Red Sox enjoyed a walk-off homer to tie up their series with the Atlanta Braves on Saturday, but it wasn’t enough to answer some bigger questions about their season.
Even after adding the likes of Garrett Crochet, Walker Buehler and Alex Bregman this past winter, the Red Sox have limped out to a losing record to start the season. And a slumping veteran has become a focus of those issues.
Entering the fourth season of a six-year, $140 million deal with the Red Sox, shortstop Trevor Story finally has been able to stay on the field, but he hasn’t been able to produce.
He is slashing just .236/.281/.351 with an American League-leading 56 strikeouts so far. That’s a distant cry from the .293/.363/.554 line he posted during an All-Star 2019 campaign with the Colorado Rockies.
Story has struggled to stay on the field in his tenure with the Red Sox. And while injuries haven’t been a problem so far this season, his inability to create offense has been.
Now, Red Sox manager Alex Cora has spoken out about potentially moving Story, factoring in both his production and his injury history as the shortstop looks to play in more than 150 games for the first time since 2018.
“He wanted to play a lot of games, more than 150. And I think he’s on pace to do that,” Cora said, per Christopher Smith of MassLive. “But obviously I’ve got to be smart, too. Not only with the production, but also the body.”
Even as Cora seemed to hint that Story’s struggles at the plate and his potential for injury would necessitate some more days off, he noted Story hasn’t been the only underwhelming Red Sox hitter so far this season.
“Right now, he’s not the only one struggling,” Cora told reporters, when asked how long he can keep Story in the lineup given his poor start. “Like right now, I think offensively we got some holes and it’s not because they’re bad players or bad hitters. They’re just going through a stretch right here.”
But if Story’s poor stretch endures much longer, the Red Sox will have to consider a change. And that might mean calling up a top prospect replacement in Marcelo Mayer.
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