SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — Trevor Story sure didn’t expect to start his second season with the Boston Red Sox on the injury shelf.
Story was ramping up for the upcoming campaign in the offseason when he felt a “tingly feeling” in his right arm. That ended up being a bad sign for Story as he recently underwent an internal bracing procedure of the right ulnar collateral ligament, which is an alternative to Tommy John surgery. Story revealed he suffered only a partial tear of the ligament.
The injury startled Story, who felt like he was in good shape to assume a major role with the Red Sox with a season on the horizon.
“I was surprised because I was feeling good. Feeling really good,” Story said at Red Sox Winter Weekend on Saturday morning. “Just frustrated. Obviously, offseason injuries are not fun. Any injuries aren’t fun. But not doing it all on the field is frustrating. I’m just surprised because I was feeling really good at the time.”
It has already been an injury-filled brief tenure with the Red Sox for Story, who signed a six-year, $140 million deal with Boston last offseason.
Story was sidelined for over a month due to a hairline fracture in his hand and missed more time due to various other ailments. The injuries limited him to 94 games — his lowest total in his major league career excluding the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign — as he batted .238 with 16 home runs and 66 RBIs.
And while Story appeared to deal with diminished arm strength last season, he said he didn’t have any inclination that as severe of an elbow injury would occur for him.
“No, honestly I didn’t,” Story said. “I felt as the season went on my arm got stronger and I felt good about it. Didn’t miss any time for my elbow. Obviously, I felt like I was gaining ground there in the offseason and this instance kind of happened.”
