{"id":63,"date":"2026-05-11T04:34:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-11T04:34:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=63"},"modified":"2026-05-11T04:34:00","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T04:34:00","slug":"shortstop-trevor-storys-slumping-play-puts-red-sox-in-a-dilemma","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=63","title":{"rendered":"Shortstop Trevor Story\u2019s slumping play puts Red Sox in a dilemma"},"content":{"rendered":"<article>\n<div>\n<p><span>The Red Sox have played 40 games, a quarter of the season. That\u2019s enough of a sample size to write this: There are some tough decisions to be made regarding Trevor Story.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=61\">Some Massachusetts Democrats are pushing a plan to scrap party primaries. Their own party is revolting against it.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span>The veteran shortstop was booed loudly on several occasions at Fenway Park on Sunday during a 4-1 loss against the Rays.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Story\u2019s error in the third inning led to two runs scoring, and he was 1 for 4 with three strikeouts. That actually raised his batting average to .200 and his OPS to .520.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span>The error was a turning point in the game. Up, 1-0, the Rays had a runner on second with one out in the third inning when Chandler Simpson hit a bouncing ball to shortstop.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>It popped over Story\u2019s glove and into left field. Nick Fortes, who was running on contact, scored from second. Simpson went to second when Jarren Duran made an ill-advised throw to the plate.<\/span><\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div><span>Get Starting Point<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span>A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday.<\/span><\/div>\n<div>\n<div><label>Enter Email<\/label><\/p>\n<div><button>Sign Up<\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span>Ben Williamson followed with an RBI single, and Tampa Bay had a 3-0 lead.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Oddly, the play was ruled an RBI single for Simpson and an error on Story because Fortes scored, and the Sox weren\u2019t charged with any unearned runs.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Story acknowledged he hesitated, thinking he could throw Fortes out at third, and the hop ate him up.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cThat\u2019s all it takes,\u201d he said. \u201cI get the tough hop. If I was playing more aggressive, got a better hop \u2026 I thought for a split second, I should get him out and kind of took my focus off the ball a little bit. So, yeah, it\u2019s on me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Interim manager Chad Tracy said he thinks Story\u2019s defense \u201chas been great\u201d this season.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cI think my broad overview of the time here has been, man, we catch the ball,\u201d Tracy said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>In general, that\u2019s true of the team as a whole. But Story has graded out as a slightly below-average shortstop based on defensive runs saved and outs above average. The fielding run value metric computed by Statcast tells the same story, and his five errors are tied for third-most among all shortstops.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Story was excellent at shortstop in 2023 after Xander Bogaerts signed with the Padres, but he has regressed since and is the weakest of their infielders defensively this season.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Putting Marcelo Mayer at shortstop with Story at second base is an experiment worth undertaking, if only to see how Mayer looks there as top prospect Franklin Arias tears up Double-A. <\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=59\">Mailbag: If the Patriots trade for A.J. Brown, what moves might offset the added salary?<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span>Story turns 34 in November and is signed only through 2027. Playing Mayer at shortstop will give the Sox more information as they map out the future. Story hasn\u2019t played second since 2022, but played the position at a high level.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The Sox have such a thin margin for error that upgrading the defense at one position could make a difference.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Story and the Sox hope the offensive side of the equation is a matter of time. They\u2019ve been through this before.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Story had a .581 OPS after 58 games last season and hit .287 with an .825 OPS the rest of the season. He has earned the right to swing his way out of his slump. But should Story be hitting fourth or fifth until he does?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>He has struck out 14 times in his last 25 plate appearances, and a whopping 33 percent of the time this season. That\u2019s untenable.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Former manager Alex Cora dropped Story to the sixth spot in the order seven times earlier this season. But Tracy has kept Story fourth or fifth since he took over.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>That\u2019s understandable. Story has been an everyday player since 2022 and is widely respected as a clubhouse leader. Tracy wasn\u2019t going to come in and make radical changes to a team that was reeling emotionally.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>And it\u2019s not like the Sox are loaded with middle-of-the-order hitters, given their unwillingness to fully invest in the lineup during the offseason.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Story hopes he\u2019ll figure it out more quickly than he did last season. It doesn\u2019t help that the Sox fired all the hitting coaches who knew him well.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cIf I knew exactly what it was, you could kind of fix it right away. But that\u2019s not baseball, and there\u2019s a lot that goes into it,\u201d he said. \u201cI think it\u2019s just a matter of time before I get it right. We saw what can happen last year, so I\u2019m confident I can do it again.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Story said it can be a matter of trying to do too much sometimes. Sunday felt like one of those days, and the crowd of 33,489 \u2014 not a sellout on a sunny 70-degree Sunday \u2014 let him know it with how loudly they booed the strikeouts.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=57\">Fleet season ends in Ottawa, as Charge\u2019s Michela Cava scores double-OT winner to eliminate Boston in PWHL semifinals<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span> \u201cJust keep working,\u201d Story said. \u201cThat\u2019s all I can do.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Story\u2019s error in the third inning led to two runs scoring and he was booed loudly on several occasions at Fenway Park.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":62,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-63","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sport"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - 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