Craig Breslow Commits To Red Sox’s Starting Shortstop For 2026

The Boston Red Sox face several interesting roster issues heading into 2026. Not only do they have an outfield logjam that needs to be dealt with, but they also have a largely unsettled infield.

All-Star third baseman Alex Bregman is a free agent after opting out, and first baseman Triston Casas is a question mark after missing most of last season with a knee injury. Infielder Marcelo Mayer is also coming off a season-ending injury and a somewhat underwhelming rookie year, at least compared to Roman Anthony.

Fortunately for the Red Sox, they do have some stability in shortstop Trevor Story, who opted into his contract and is coming off his best season in years. Story was one of the team’s top offensive performers last season, leading Boston in home runs (25), RBI (96) and stolen bases (31).

The two-time All-Star regressed defensively, however, leading American League shortstops in errors and posting some of the worst fielding metrics of his career. His reduced arm strength and range have sparked speculation that the Red Sox may move him to second base, but chief baseball officer Craig Breslow dismissed those rumors at the GM meetings on Monday, committing to Story as the team’s starting shortstop for next year.

“I’m aware of some of the errors,” Breslow said via The Athletic’s Jen McCaffrey. “I’m aware of what some of the defensive metrics indicate. I also think that he brought a stabilizing presence to the infield.”

After missing much of the previous three seasons with injuries, Story played 157 games this year, matching his career high. His defense slipped as the season wore on with 12 of his 19 errors coming after the All-Star Break, but he’s committed to working on his fielding this winter and hopes to bounce back defensively next year.

“We feel very confident when Trevor was playing shortstop,” Breslow said. “We felt like balls that were put in play to the shortstop were going to be converted into outs.”

Story turns 33 soon and hasn’t played back-to-back full seasons in a while, so this offseason will be critical for him.