Boston Red Sox Manager Reveals Surprising Information When it Comes to Injured Veteran
Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora revealed a potential game-changing piece of information regarding injured infielder Trevor Story on Monday.
Ian Browne of MLB.com has more on Twitter:
Alex Cora did not rule out Trevor Story coming back before he is able to play defense.
Story has missed the entire season after undergoing an elbow procedure this offseason. This revelation from Cora is notable for multiple reasons:
1) It would get Story's bat in the lineup back faster. He was signed to a six-year, $140 million deal before the 2022 season after a string of successful seasons in Colorado. For a Red Sox offense that is already formidable, getting Story back earlier would be a huge development.
He hit .238 with 16 home runs and 66 RBIs last year for the Red Sox. He played in just 94 games a season ago with unrelated injuries.
The 30-year-old is a two-time All-Star who has received MVP votes in three different seasons. He's a lifetime .268 hitter with 174 home runs.
2) It would create an issue for the Red Sox at designated hitter. The Red Sox value lineup flexibility and if Story came back under these circumstances, the flexibility would go away.
The team has liked being able to rotate players to the DH spot -- and to use it as a way to hide Masataka Yoshida defensively -- so they would forfeit those abilities if Story took up that spot most of the time.
It should be noted, that while this plan presents a lot of questions, it's not unprecedented. The Philadelphia Phillies are currently playing Bryce Harper at designated hitter. He's not ready to play defense yet after coming back from Tommy John surgery.
The Red Sox enter play on Monday at 30-29 overall and in last place in the American League East.
They play the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday at 4:05 p.m. ET.
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