The once red-hot Boston Red Sox have hit rough waters, having lost six of their last seven games after dropping Friday’s series opener to the Pittsburgh Pirates, 8-4. During their slow stretch, the Red Sox offense has scored only 24 runs, many of which came with games already out of reach. However, the Boston lineup got some positive news on the injury front as reinforcements are reportedly on the way. 

According to Tommy Cassell of the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, the 33-year-old shortstop will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Worcester beginning on Sunday. Story, along with Isiah Kiner-Falefa, were sent to Worcester to get their daily work in as Fenway hosted a Chris Stapleton concert. 

Story has been on the injured list since May 16 after undergoing surgery to treat a sports hernia suffered during the Red Sox' April series in Baltimore. In 41 games before going down with the hernia, Story struggled at the plate, hitting .206/.244/.303/.547 with a weighted runs created plus (wRC+) of 46, which ranked 167 out of 171 qualified batters. He also struggled defensively, making six errors, which at the time was the fifth-most in baseball, while his outs above average of -3 ranked in the 10th percentile of all shortstops. 

After Red Sox Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslin struck out on the “long-term solution” at the position he was reportedly seeking, Story will look to reclaim his position upon his return from Worcester. However, with top organizational prospect Franklin Arias knocking on the door to the big leagues, the pressure will undoubtedly be on him to perform. 

Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy told reporters, including MassLive.com’s Sean McAdam, that Anthony was continuing to make progress hitting off the Trajekt machine, but stopped shy of placing a timeline for what’s likely to be a lengthy rehab stint. However, according to Cassell, “there’s a belief that Anthony could join an affiliate to begin a rehab stint starting as early as Tuesday.” 

The 22-year-old phenom has been on the injured list since May 7 after exiting the Red Sox' May 4 win in Detroit after tearing a ligament in his right ring finger. It’s been a long road to recovery for Anthony as he was shut down on May 18 after beginning to hit again and feeling pain in the finger. He has spent the last several weeks at the team’s spring training facilities in Ft. Myers waiting for the pain to subside, where he first began a swinging progression on July 30. Tracy told reporters there was talk of bringing the 22-year-old back to Boston to continue his rehab with the club; however, Cassell notes it’s possible he'll head directly to either Worcester or Double-A Portland to begin his rehab assignment.

After an underwhelming offseason put the former top prospect in the sport in a position where he needed to immediately thrive, Anthony struggled at the plate, hitting .229/.354/.321/.675 with only one home run in 30 games. Despite the rough surface stats, his advanced numbers showed a player that was on the cusp of a major breakout.

Despite the recent rough stretch, Boston still holds a 5.5-game lead in the wild-card race and is not at risk of falling out of the playoff picture. However, the seemingly imminent return of both Story and Anthony will be a welcome sign for the scuffling Red Sox offense. 

Boston will look to even up the series with the Pirates and avoid the third consecutive series loss in game two of three from Pittsburgh on Saturday night. Sonny Gray (14-3, 2.79 ERA) will get the start for the Red Sox opposite Jared Jones (2-4, 5.03 ERA) for the Pirates. First pitch from PNC Park is set for 7:15 p.m. ET.