Trevor Story Has Started to Hit His Stride for the Red Sox
It's taken a while, but Trevor Story is finally healthy. A strong June and start to July has the Red Sox shortstop looking like his old self.
On March 20, 2022, the Boston Red Sox had done it – they signed slugging shortstop Trevor Story. At the time, he was a 29-year-old two-time All-Star and Silver Slugger who had earned MVP votes on three separate occasions.
Still grieving their 2021 ALCS loss, courtesy of the Houston Astros, the Sox saw Story and grabbed him on a six-year, $140 million deal. He was supposed to be the missing piece of their infield in what was going to be a 2022 redemption season.
That’s not what happened. In both 2022 and 2023, the Red Sox finished 78-84, putting them last in the AL East. The 2024 season was slightly better yet disappointing, where the Sox finished 81-81 in third place. Through all of the losing, the only thing consistent with Story was his inability to stay consist, as injuries kept him off the field. Even when he was on the diamond, he wasn’t exactly productive.
Trevor Story, Are You There?
With enough familiarity with it to call the IL his second home in his first three years in Boston, Story only wound up making it into a combined 163 games from 2022 to 2024. Between these three seasons, he underwent hand, heel, elbow, and shoulder injuries, causing Red Sox fans’ frustrations to skyrocket from the seemingly negative ROI of their shortstop’s rich contract.
Even when healthy, Story’s average OPS during the first three years (.679) never saw what he averaged in six years prior with the Colorado Rockies (.863). Most notably, Story averaged a 4.9 WAR in his seasons with the Rockies, which endured a 73 percent drop to his 1.3 WAR average during his early time with the Red Sox. Once an All-Star, Story was shaping up to be an overpriced disappointment.
New Season, Another Frustrating Start
Finally, with no IL stint keeping him out, Story had to readjust to being a roster-activated force. However, the beginning of the 2025 regular season was looking like another big letdown.
Throughout March, April, and May, the 32-year-old shortstop averaged a slash of .190/.237/.267, with a .503 OPS. On the defensive end, he committed five errors in these three months, posing as a gaping hole at one of the most coveted positions in the sport: Fenway Park’s shortstop.
When the month of June hit, everything changed.
When the clock struck midnight on June 1, something strange happened. Story seemingly rediscovered himself.
By the end of June, Story had an accumulated slash rate of .286/.327/.500, accompanied by a .827 OPS, easily the best he had posted all season. Over the course of 98 at-bats, he managed 23 RBI and a 27.6% strikeout rate. This performance may be considered poor for a former All-Star — despite being errorless defensively — but Story was regaining his bearings at the plate and starting to do something. As someone whom Red Sox nation was crying for general manager Craig Breslow to DFA, anything shy of failure was progress.
Come July, Story returned to looking like his old self. From the jump of the month until July 13, he slashed .391/.417/.674, with an OPS of 1.091. Not only is his OPS above league average, it reached its record high since Story arrived in Boston four years ago. Also, he recorded 12 RBI over 46 at-bats, with a strikeout rate of only 16.7%. He also accumulated 32 total bases, putting him well over halfway to achieving his June total of 49.
All stats for this piece were pulled on July 14th.
He has also shown to be more aggressive on the bases, taking leadoffs greater than the league norm of just north of three steps, and going a perfect 16-for-16 in stolen bases.
What changed — and why now?
The phrase “change can’t happen over night” is challenged by the mysterious case of Story. As pointed out by Red Sox manager Alex Cora, the shortstop gained momentum in the road series against the Milwaukee Brewers, when Story suddenly got hot.
Finding simplicity can be complicated. Story gradually started improving his pitch selection while emphasizing the importance of finding simplicities in a mentally challenging and chaotic game. It is certainly easier said than done, but the hounding of the importance of recognizing baseball’s simplicities was key.
Eventually, it infiltrated his thought patterns, and consequently his plate appearances. Once he kept his mindset simple, he became unstoppable.
Through it all, Story has remained a solid defender at shortstop, but it’s hard to deny that he’s lost a step or two over the years. This season, he has 1 DRS at short but he’s got -2 Outs Above Average, which is four OAA below where he was last year, and 10 below the year prior.
However, he seems to be slowly turning things around, and his defensive play as of late is proof.
One play, specifically, stuck out. This one had rookie Marcelo Mayer more excited than if one of his teammates slashed a homer, he admitted, when Story chased and stopped a 102.9 MPH hit ground ball, followed by a leaping throw to nail Yandy Diaz of the Tampa Bay Rays at first base.
Mayer, a versatile infielder, made his MLB debut on May 24. Less than a month later, Story got hot. The veteran has been nothing but supportive of his young teammate, with whom he took ground balls at this year’s spring training and has developed a tight-knit relationship.
Still, Mayer’s talented presence made it impossible for fans not to conceptualize him being Story’s replacement. This talk inevitably infiltrated the field, oftentimes via press inquiries.
It is hard to imagine a world in which these replacement thoughts did not circulate to Story’s subconscious, seeing as he experienced a revival only weeks later.
Of course, it’s impossible to omit the Devers Drama as a possibility of Story’s improvement. Rafael Devers, a three-year teammate of Story’s, got traded in a blockbuster to the San Francisco Giants on June 15.
Devers, the team’s 2025 designated hitter, butted heads with management after the acquisition of Gold Glove winner and three-time All-Star Alex Bregman. Bregman, a superstar third baseman, caused feathers to ruffle when Devers, who had signed a 10-year, $313 million contract, refused to switch positions.
Coincidentally — or not — the Devers trade calculates a direct correlation with Story’s thriving game.
Regardless of speculation, one thing remains true: Story should keep doing what he’s doing.
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I am a sophomore at Georgetown University majoring in Government and minoring in the selective enrollment Journalism Program. I am a sports staff writer for Georgetown’s…