Red Sox's Trevor Story Makes His Choice on Sports Hernia Surgery

Boston will be without Story for a significant period

Mar 29, 2026; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Boston Red Sox shortstop Trevor Story (10) reacts after striking out in the eighth inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-Imagn Images | Katie Stratman-Imagn Images

Trevor Story's run of full, healthy seasons with the Boston Red Sox has come to an end at one.

On Friday, the Red Sox announced that Story underwent surgery to repair a sports hernia. The procedure was done in Philadelphia by Dr. William Meyers at the Vincera Institute. Philadelphia was Story's third stop on his tour of medical opinions after going on the injured list last Saturday while hte team was in Atlanta.

According to Chris Cotillo of MassLive, Story made his decision with the prior knowledge that a recovery would likely take 6-10 weeks. If that timeline holds true, the 33-year-old shortstop would likely return to the Red Sox's active roster sometime around the end of July, right around the trade deadline.

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What Story's surgery means for Red Sox

May 4, 2026; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Boston Red Sox shortstop Trevor Story (10) hits a single in the first inning against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images | Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

In their first game since Story's surgery was announced, the Red Sox decided to play Nick Sogard at shortstop for the first time all season. That decision felt meaningful on a couple of levels, but there's still a lot more to sort out. It's not as if Sogard is suddenly Story's definitive replacement.

Andruw Monasterio and Isiah Kiner-Falefa split the first six starts without Story, while Marcelo Mayer, the team's former first-round pick and de facto "shortstop of the future" said he was going to start taking reps at the position. Mayer has looked great defensively at second base, but can he jump right in at shortstop and keep improving on both sides of the ball?

The context here matters too -- Story was one of the worst players on the Red Sox this season while healthy. He made six errors at shortstop and ranked in the 10th percentile with negative-3 outs above average, while posting the sixth-worst OPS among qualified hitters as of Friday (.547).

The Red Sox are trying to replace Story in the short term while also figuring out how soon they'll be better off with a long-term replacement in that starting role. If they put Mayer there and he flourishes, they're more likely to think about moving on from Story for good than they are for someone like Sogard or Monasterio.