The Boston Red Sox will likely have to do without their starting shortstop for the near future, as Trevor Story exited their April 5 game after suffering a shoulder injury.
Story’s injury occurred in the fourth inning, after Mike Trout hit a sharp ground ball toward left field.
Story dove for the ball and landed awkwardly on his left shoulder. Immediately after, Story clutched his shoulder, clearly in a lot of pain.
#RedSox Trevor Story injured his left shoulder on this diving play.
Keep an eye out for an update on the injury.
Story remained on the ground for about two minutes until Red Sox manager Alex Cora and members of Boston’s athletic training staff helped him off the field.
The severity of Story’s shoulder injury won’t be known until he undergoes an MRI on Saturday.
Yet, it sounds like Story expects to miss some time, based on what he told reporters after Boston’s 8-6 win over the Angels.
“Frustrating, man,” Story said of the injury to NESN. “A lot of emotions. We don’t know how severe it is just yet, but a lot of frustration.”
“Did something to the shoulder there. Pretty Painful. We didn’t get images yet. So, we’ll have that tomorrow.”
Trevor Story on his injury | #RedSox
If Story does need to miss significant time, the Red Sox will need to find a replacement in the middle of their infield.
Luckily for them, Boston might already have the perfect guy.
Boston’s Top Prospect Marcelo Mayer Could Save the Day at Shortstop
Backup infielder Pablo Reyes replaced Story after the injury. Yet, Reyes is a natural second baseman, and his 8 career MLB home runs will make it hard for him to replace Story’s lineup presence.
Although Boston does have Marcelo Mayer: A 21-year-old shortstop, fourth overall pick in the 2021 MLB draft, and top-ranked Red Sox prospect.
In March, Cora compared Mayer to two-time MLB All-Star Carlos Correa.
“They’re very similar,” Cora said of Mayer and Correa to MassLive’s Sean McAdam. “It would be good, at one point, to get them connected because they’re very similar in what they do. The only thing is one is righty, one is a lefty. You look at their bodies, when Carlos first came up, he was built just like him. He just got stronger.”
While Mayer is currently playing for Boston’s AA affiliate, the Portland Sea Dogs, Story’s shoulder injury provides him the perfect opportunity to get called up to Boston’s big league squad.
MLB.com estimates Mayer’s MLB time of arrival to be 2024. Therefore, this potential promotion wouldn’t arrive too far before Mayer is ready.
The Associated Press quoted Cora saying he wasn’t sure who would replace Story. Yet, Mayer appears to be in prime position.
Trevor Story’s Concerning Injury History
Story’s Red Sox tenure has been marred by injuries ever since he signed a six-year, $140 million contract with the team in March 2022.
Story played in just 94 games in 2022, due to various injuries to his right hand and left heel.
He then missed the team’s first 112 games in 2023, after recovering from offseason surgery on his right elbow to address what doctors called an “internal bracing procedure” to his ulnar collateral ligament (UCL).
What has already been a frustrating start to Story’s Red Sox career took another negative turn on April 5.
Perhaps a silver lining is that Red Sox fans will see Mayer at Fenway Park sooner than they’d expected.
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Top Prospect Could Save the Red Sox After Trevor Story Injury