Trevor Story Shoulders Blame For Ugly Start To Red Sox Tenure

Trevor Story has not lived up to the six-year, $140 million contract he signed with the Boston Red Sox in March 2022.

The Red Sox haven’t gotten much from Story through two seasons. The 30-year-old has played in just 137 games, slashing .227/.287/.398 with 19 home runs and 80 RBIs. That’s the kind of line you’d expect to see out of a replacement-level player, not the guy who was brought in to eventually replace one of the greatest shortstops in franchise history.

He’ll be the first to admit it.

“I play this game to win, and I think that’s the thing at the end of the day. I was brought here to be a big part of that,” Story said in September, per Chris Cotillo of MassLive. “The performance hasn’t been there the last two years, but I think if I’m playing well, then we’re going to have a good shot to win. Being up the middle, just making plays and doing everything I can on both sides of the ball more consistently.”

There’s no doubt that Story’s routine absences have hurt the Red Sox in a big way. His injuries have forced Boston into playing the likes of Kiké Hernández, Yu Chang, Pablo Reyes and Bobby Dalbec in the six hole. That’s not going to get it done.

The Red Sox have seen Story make a concerted effort, though. He played tremendous defense down the stretch in 2023, returning to dispel the struggles Boston had up the middle prior to his return, and will host an offseason camp for members of the organization to work on their craft.

“He’s all in and he wants to be better,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora told Cotillo. “He knows that he needs to be better, too, for us to be a good team.”

If Boston hopes to improve in 2024, Story will need to be at the forefront.