The Boston Red Sox have reportedly come to terms with free agent shortstop Trevor Story in their first major move of the offseason. The 29 year old spent his entire 6 year career with the Colorado Rockies where he made two All-Star appearances and took home a pair of Silver Slugger awards as well.
Story had a bit of a down year by his standards in 2021 posting a .251BA, with 24HRs, 75RBIs and 88 runs scored. Initial reports indicate that the Irving, Texas native has signed a 6 year $140M contract with the club which will see him earn $23.33M a year in terms of AAV.
Story has never played any position other than shortstop at the major league level, however it’s widely expected that he will be shifting to 2nd base with the Red Sox. Boston currently has 3 time All-Star and 4 time Silver Slugger award winner Xander Bogaerts signed for the next 5 years at shortstop.
The deal not only gives the Red Sox some added versatility for their infield, but also provides the team with a legitimate threat at 2nd base. Something they’ve been lacking in their lineup since Dustin Pedroia hung up his cleats in 2019.
By shifting Story to 2nd, it also allows the club to move super utility man Kike Hernandez around the lineup similar to how he was deployed in Los Angeles. Last season Hernandez took most of his reps at 2nd base out of necessity, with mixed results.
Story’s bat will be a welcome addition to the Red Sox lineup as he’s shown he can hit for both average and power in the past. In 2019, Story became the fastest shortstop to slug 100 home runs in major league history, doing so in only 448 games.
His agility on the basebaths will also add an element of speed to the Boston roster which has been lacking in recent years. Story led the National League in steals in 2020, and has accumulated 100SB in his career.
The knock on Story is the concern about what his offensive numbers will look like outside the friendly confines of Coors Field. Both his batting average, and on base percentages ranked 60 points lower on the road compared to at home during his stay in Colorado.
That being said, the signing will likely be viewed as a win by some Red Sox fans as it means that the Yankees, who were reportedly deep into negotiations with the shortstop, won’t be acquiring his services.
Boston opens their regular season schedule with a tilt against the Yankees on April 7th.
-Kyle Skinner
Twitter: @JKyleSkinner
Photo: Ian D’Andrea. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.