BOSTON -- The Boston Red Sox lineup is finally beginning to get healthy as both shortstop Trevor Story and left fielder Roman Anthony have begun rehab assignments with Triple-A Worcester and Double-A Portland, respectively. In addition to Anthony and Story already beginning their rehab appearances, utility infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa is set to join Triple-A Worcester on Wednesday night. 

However, as the trio works their way back to the big leagues, the Red Sox have been rolling without them, turning their season around thanks to a historic month of July. The team's strong play, paired with the impending returns of Anthony, Story and Kiner-Falefa, has created difficult roster decisions for interim manager Chad Tracy and Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow. 

Here’s how they could approach the decisions: 

Interim manager Chad Tracy hasn’t given many indications of how the Red Sox will approach their infield situation upon Story’s return, which could come as soon as Friday, except for the fact that Andrew Monasterio is going to continue to play. “Mona's got to play,” Tracy told WEEI’s ‘Rich and Ken with Ted Johnson’ Show on Tuesday afternoon. "You guys have seen what he's done over the last month and a half, how well he's swung the bat versus right and left... Prior to all the injuries happening, Mona was sliding all over the place. Third base, shortstop, second base... keeping him involved in some heavy way is important," he continued.

Monasterio has performed well in Story’s absence, hitting .315/.382/.500/.882 in 36 games since July 1. However, defensively he profiles as one of the worst shortstops in the game, posting a -8 outs above average in 383 innings at the position. Shifting him over to second base, where the defensive numbers are still not great (-4 career OAA), is a much better fit.  

Monasterio taking over reps at second leaves one of the utility men, Nick Sogard or Anthony Seigler, as the likely first man to be sent back to Triple-A. Sogard has performed well since being recalled on July 29, hitting .260/.375/.329/.704 in 19 games. 

After hitting .319/.407/.511/.918 in his first 15 games after being recalled on June 20. The 27-year-old Seigler has struggled at the plate, hitting only .217/.275/.348/.622 in his next 29 games. However, since his arrival, the Red Sox have surged to a 31-13 record in games he's played in, thanks in part to the incredible energy he brings to the game. 

While Sogard provides better production both at the plate and in the field, is it worth losing a player in Seigler, who has served as a sparkplug, in order to keep Sogard around in a bench role beyond Story's return? Regardless, it's likely a fait accompli for both Sogard and Seigler, as whichever one survives Story's return will likely find themselves back in Worcester until rosters expand on Sept. 1 upon Kiner-Falefa's arrival. 

When Anthony makes his long-awaited return to the Red Sox lineup, he will bring with him the much-discussed outfield logjam that has plagued Boston for the better part of two seasons. The 22-year-old will return to left field and lead off for the team, forcing one of Jahmai Jones, Eli White, or the struggling Jarren Duran to lose their spot on the roster. 

Jones has been the perfect replacement for Rob Refsnyder since arriving in Boston on July 14, hitting .478/.520/.913/1.433 in 14 games while playing both left field and serving as the designated hitter against southpaws. Due to limited playing time, Jones seems like the likely option to be removed from the roster upon Anthony's return, but his ability to crush left-handed pitching and the fact that he would have to be designated for assignment make it a difficult decision. 

After being acquired at the trade deadline to serve as a defensive fourth outfielder, White has performed well in limited action for the Red Sox, hitting .250/.286/.250/.536 in nine games. While his performance at the plate hasn't been up to par thus far, Tracy has spoken highly of his ability to play all three outfield positions, allowing for the first-year manager to give Gold Glove Award winners Ceddanne Rafaela and Wilyer Abreu days off without seeing much of a drop-off defensively. White, like Jones, would have to be designated for assignment in order to be removed from the 26-man roster. 

Then, there's the struggling spark plug, Duran, who may be the most disappointing player in all of baseball in 2026. The 29-year-old enters Wednesday's series finale against the Diamondbacks in the bottom five among 141 qualified hitters in batting average (.203, 141st), on-base percentage (.261, 139th) and weighted runs created plus (63, 140th). 

Unlike Jones and White, Duran has two minor league options remaining and could be sent to Triple-A without having to pass through waivers first. While it seems unlikely Boston would send Duran down, there's an argument that it would be the best move to give him consistent playing time, which may be hard to come by when Anthony returns as he works through his struggles. 

The Red Sox are 68-58 and in third place in the American League East.