Boston Red Sox shortstop Trevor Story was forced out of his team’s game Friday in the 4th inning after injuring his left shoulder on a diving play.
A visibly frustrated Story told reporters after the game that it was a painful landing, and that he wasn’t sure whether he had dislocated the shoulder on impact or not. An MRI is currently scheduled for Saturday which should reveal the full extent of the injury.
“Frustrating, man,” Story said. “A lot of emotions. We don’t know how severe it is just yet, but a lot of frustration.”
After signing with the Red Sox ahead of the 2022 MLB campaign, Story endured two injury plagued campaigns in 2022 and 2023, suiting up for only 137 games combined. Now, with a possible major shoulder injury, his 2024 season doesn’t appear to be starting off any better.
“You go out there and he’s in pain and all that, and you start thinking about everything he did in the offseason to get to this point,” manager Alex Cora said. “He’s a guy that very quietly has become the leader of this team. He took ownership of what we were trying to accomplish. It’s not going to stop, and hopefully nothing is going on and he’ll be with us soon. But you start thinking about that. That’s the tough part of this job.”
In his absence, 30 year old infielder Pablo Reyes filled in at shortstop, though it remains to be seen what the club will do if Story is expected to be out for a prolonged period of time. In addition to Reyes, Ceddanne Rafaela is another option to take reps at SS, though he’s played primarily in the outfield to date at the Major League level.
Triple-A options include David Hamilton, Romy Gonzalez, and Eddy Alvarez with Worcester. However an extended IL stint will instantly begin chatter about whether Boston would consider promoting 21 year top prospect Marcelo Mayer from Double-A Portland to their MLB roster.
Selected 4th overall by Boston in the 2021 MLB Draft, Mayer was the 2021 Collegiate Baseball National High School Player of the Year at Eastlake High School. After tearing up Single-A ball, the Sox top prospect became the youngest Boston player to be promoted to Double-A since 2009.
With other clubs such as the Los Angeles Angels, and Milwaukee Brewers making headlines for fast tracking their prospects to the Major League ranks in recent years, the Red Sox front office will have to at least consider the option if Story’s MRI results yield bad news.
-Kyle Skinner
Twitter: @JKyleSkinner
Photo: Catsup31. This file is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.