Insider Says Red Sox's Oft-Injured Former All-Star Is Key To 2025 Season

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Sep 20, 2019; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; A detail view of Boston Red Sox hats and gloves at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-Imagn Images / Kim Klement-Imagn Images

The Boston Red Sox have missed the playoffs, and that means it's time to start evaluating what needs to change around the organization.

After a brutal second half that saw Boston slowly fall out of contention for a very attainable Wild Card spot, any and all solutions should be on the table. The pitching, hitting, and defense all struggled at some point during the season, so there's a wide variety of problems to start solving.

There are also lots of tools at Boston's disposal: free agency, trades, promoting top prospects, you name it. But maybe the Red Sox are banking on part of their improvement to come from a somewhat surprising source within the organization: shortstop Trevor Story.

Story has missed significant time in all three of the seasons he's played in Boston, with his shoulder injury in April causing a five-month absence in 2024. But one insider believes a healthy Story could still be a game-changer for the Red Sox in year four.

On Thursday, Red Sox beat reporter Ian Browne of MLB.com said defense was an "area of improvement" for Boston in 2025, and suggested that Story staying healthy would be a key to the team's success.

"The Red Sox have to get better on defense. For the second straight year, inconsistency in the field -- particularly in the infield -- was a major issue," Browne said.

"The one common thread is that Story missed the majority of games in both seasons. If he can stay on the field for all of 2025, that alone would stabilize things given his excellence at shortstop and his status as a widely-respected veteran."

It might not jump to the front of fans' minds that Story could be so vital to the team given that they played their best ball of the season without him in the early summer. But the roster was constructed with Story in mind, and Boston paid him $140 million because he can make a huge difference when he's at his best.

Suffice it to say, the Red Sox's defense has been very bad the past few years, and Trevor Story is an outstanding defender. He's managed 21 outs above average in 161 games in Boston, which is as many OAA as MLB leader Jacob Young has in 2024.

And even if one doesn't dare to dream about Story returning to his prime offensive numbers, he can still be a very solid hitter for a shortstop. He's had a 102 OPS+ in two of his three Boston seasons, which the Red Sox would gladly take, but his 108 career number would be even better.

If Story truly can put together a full, healthy season at shortstop for the Red Sox, it could change the team's entire outlook. But Red Sox fans have fallen into that trap before.

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