Struggling Story Undergoes Surgery, Leaving Red Sox Shorthanded

Now, it’s always great to hear news once it’s announced that things have gone successfully, but Boston Red Sox fans probably preferred to never hear this news in the first place despite his struggles this season. The Red Sox announced Friday that shortstop Trevor Story is slated to miss up several weeks after undergoing what they said was successful sports hernia surgery. The procedure was performed by Dr. William Meyers at the Vincera Institute up in Philadelphia. Hopefully, that several week timeline doesn’t stretch to 10 weeks, after Story told reporters in Atlanta that, while considering his options, he was hoping that a surgical procedure wouldn’t keep him out for 10 weeks.

Story hasn’t had the best campaign in 41 of Boston’s 43 games this season before going down, slashing .206/.244/.303 with three homers in his fifth year with the franchise. He has committed six errors this season, and his .547 OPS is decidedly low among qualified hitters. Despite being a two-time All-Star, he’s been a bit of a liability at times, and any questions that may have been raised about keeping him in through his struggles don’t really need to be addressed at this point, though it certainly withers Boston’s depth a bit.

To read more about the injury update and who could be slotted in as the best option in the lineup, here is the full story from Red Sox Roundtable writer Zach Coe.

Now, the question is who goes in his place. The team has deployed Andruw Monasterio in Story’s place in four of the team’s last six games and slotted in Isiah Kiner-Falefa to start for the remaining two. However, a highly intriguing option exists that interim manager Chad Tracy has admitted to considering, which would be a swap that moves second baseman Marcelo Mayer to shortstop in the event of an extended absence. 10 weeks certainly seems to satisfy that timeline. But that type of move would have a lot more ramifications on the roster and require a lot of shuffling while Story recovers.