Boston Red Sox Shortstop Trevor Story Could Have Even More Serious Shoulder Injury

Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora said Tuesday that there is concern with the bone structure in Trevor Story's shoulder, and that surgery is still a possibility.

Apr 5, 2024; Anaheim, California, USA; Boston Red Sox shortstop Trevor Story (10) reacts after a shoulder injury. / Jason Parkhurst-USA TODAY Sports

While the Boston Red Sox gearing up for their much-anticipated home opener on Tuesday, manager Alex Cora dealt the fanbase some tough news.

Shortstop Trevor Story will more than likely miss the rest of the 2024 season.

Story went down with an injury during Friday night's game against the Los Angeles Angels. The defensive ace tried to make a diving stop, but instead crashed down on his left shoulder.

An MRI revealed that Story had dislocated his shoulder, so the Red Sox placed the shortstop on the 10-day injured list Saturday. Story spoke to reporters later that day, and he alluded towards the possibility that he could wind up missing the rest of 2024.

Cora added more gravity to that scenario Tuesday morning, telling reporters that there is now cause for concern with the bone structure in Story's shoulder, beyond a simple dislocation. Story will see a specialist for a second opinion in Los Angeles on Friday.

UPDATE, 1:20 p.m. ET: Red Sox Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow told reporters Tuesday afternoon that Story would be undergoing surgery to repair a fractured glenloid. The expected recovery time is six months, effectively ruling Story out for the rest of the season.

Breslow says Story will have surgery to repair a fractured glenoid. Recovery timetable is 6 months - so he’s lost for the season.

— Alex Speier (@alexspeier) April 9, 2024

Losing Story so early in the season is quite the blow to the Red Sox's surprisingly good fortunes thus far in 2024. Widely projected to finish dead last in the AL East, Boston has actually gotten out to a 7-3 start to the year.

Story wasn't exactly a major reason why – he was batting .226 with a .617 OPS and 0.2 WAR before he got hurt – but his stability at short was supposed to prop up a Red Sox defense that struggled mightily without him in 2023.

Ever since he signed a six-year, $140 million deal with Boston in 2022, Story has appeared in just 145 games at the MLB level. If he does actually miss the rest of 2024, he will have played in just 29.8% of the Red Sox's regular season games through the first half of his massive contract.

Story was a two-time All-Star and two-time Silver Slugger with the Colorado Rockies, earning NL MVP votes three straight years from 2018 to 2020. He has come nowhere near that kind of acclaim with the Red Sox, as his batting average has dipped 75 points and his OPS has dropped by .182.

Without Story, Cora said the Red Sox plan to use platoons at both second base and shortstop. Romy Gonzalez will be tasked with spelling David Hamilton at short, as well as Enmanuel Valdez at second.

Boston is also currently missing middle infielder Vaughn Grissom, the 23-year-old former top prospect they got from the Atlanta Braves in exchange for Chris Sale in December. Grissom was supposed to be the Red Sox's everyday second baseman – something they haven't had since Dustin Pedroia got hurt in 2017 – but he will now be asked to take on some innings at short upon his return to the big leagues.

As for Tuesday afternoon's home opener at Fenway Park against the Baltimore Orioles, Valdez will start at second and bat seventh, while Hamilton will start at short at bat ninth.

First pitch is scheduled for 2:10 p.m. ET. Pregame festivities, including a memorial for the late Tim Wakefield and a reunion of the 2004 World Series team, begin shortly after 1 p.m. ET.

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