Alex Cora said Wednesday that if Trevor Story is up to speed and fully healthy, he’ll be in the Red Sox lineup on April 7 in New York.
The bigger question, though, is where?
We know Story will be penciled in to play second base. He knew signing with Boston meant at least one season at a new position, deferring to veteran shortstop Xander Bogaerts and moving to the right side of the infield. Story’s landing spot in the batting order is an entirely different question, though it’s one that should have a positive answer regardless.
The two-time Silver Slugger is joining an offense that finished fifth in runs and third in OPS in all of baseball last season. There’s really no bad answer as to where he could hit in the order, but how does Cora plan to use him? That decision-making process is ongoing.
“We have a pretty good idea (of the lineup),” Cora said Wednesday on MLB Network. “We had a conversation with Trevor right before (the lockout), just talking to him and getting to him and letting him know that we were here for him if he had any questions or whatever he needed to know to just give us a call. But he can lead off, he can hit sixth. … We do believe his bat is going to play.”
The Rockies, who didn’t have an offense nearly as capable as the Red Sox, primarily used Story in the No. 3 or 4 hole last season. He also occasionally hit second. Story’s best season came in 2018 when he finished eighth in National League MVP voting on the strength of a .291 batting average, 37 home runs with 108 RBIs and a .915 OPS. That season, he was either hitting cleanup or out of the fifth spot more often than not.
That 2018 Rockies team, with DJ LeMahieu, Nolan Arenado and Charlie Blackmon in the lineup, is a decent comp for a team like the 2022 Red Sox, though one certainly could argue there’s even more firepower in the Boston offense.
It might ultimately come down to who’s on the mound for the opposition. Story’s OPS versus left-handed pitchers last season was 120 points higher than when facing right-handers. Meanwhile, you’ve got Alex Verdugo, whose OPS against righties was more than 300 points higher than when he had to face southpaws, and his struggles against lefties were emblematic of the entire offense in 2021.
That means it could be as simple as Story hits fifth in front of Verdugo on days the Red Sox face a left-hander, and he hits sixth on days a right-hander starts.
Regardless of what Cora and the Red Sox ultimately decide to do, Boston’s manager has made it clear to his newest addition that he doesn’t need to be the guy in this lineup.
“One thing I’ve talked to him about is when he comes here, he doesn’t need to feel the pressure of carrying an offense,” Cora added. “I keep telling that we will always hit, that’s what we do. As an organization, we’ve done it for years. But adding someone with the dynamic, the other stuff he does, he goes the other way, too, and he’s gonna grind at-bats.”
