The Boston Red Sox are going into one of the most important offseasons that they’ve had in recent memory. After making the Wild Card Round, only to be eliminated by the New York Yankees, for two seasons in a row, something needs to change on the roster.
The biggest issue this season for the Red Sox, outside of injuries, was clearly the lineup. It wasn’t deep enough and lacked the power to be a real threat in the postseason. So, they’ll need to find a way to improve there in an offseason that will presumably be disrupted by a lockout.
One position that clearly could be upgraded is shortstop. Since landing in Boston, veteran Trevor Story has been a major disappointment. There’s no counting on him to be healthy. He’s only played in more than 100 games once in five seasons with the Red Sox. Worse, he has just a .701 OPS with the Red Sox, after having an .863 OPS with the Colorado Rockies.
Story has one year remaining on his contract, which pays him $25 million annually. He does have a club option, but the Red Sox won’t be picking that up. So, it makes some sense to move him now and rip off the band-aid. However, there are first questions to answer.
The Boston Red Sox Need to Have a Franklin Arias Plan
The good news is that the Red Sox have a long-term plan at shortstop. That’s top prospect Franklin Arias, who, at the age of 20, was impressive in the minors and finished in Triple-A last season. At the same time, as Roman Anthony and several other prospects have proven you can’t bank on them to come up and immediately be elite.
“I think physical gifts and tools-wise, you can watch Franklin and feel like this guy’s gonna play in the big leagues,” manager Chad Tracy said recently. “But you never know. It’s the big leagues and you don’t know how people are gonna react. And sometimes they may not react great initially and they may end up being a great player. Sometimes they react really good initially and then struggle.”
That means the Red Sox do need a plan for Arias. It seemed like they already had that in mind at the end of 2026.
By not adding Arias to the 40-man roster by the end of the regular season, he’ll still have access to the Red Sox facilities in Fort Myers during the lockout. So, he’ll continue to get work in, just not against MLB caliber opponents.
So, if the Red Sox do move on from Story, they will either be asking Arias to become a starting MLB shortstop at 21 years old, or they’ll need a veteran on a short-term deal who can help bridge the transition. Of course, it’s doubtful that type of veteran would transform the lineup the way Boston needs.
It’s Going to be Hard to Move Trevor Story
The odds that the Red Sox move Trevor Story in a trade probably aren’t all that high. He’s getting paid $25 million next season, and his injuries and lack of production don’t make him worth a fraction of that deal. You’d probably have to attach a prospect. On top of that, Story can veto a trade.
There is some room for the Red Sox to eat part of Story’s contract. However, getting that contract off the books is the appeal behind trading Story and signing a cheaper veteran to bridge into Arias.
That would leave the potential for a DFA. However, that would force them to eat his entire salary for nothing. It seems more likely they’d want to hope he has something left in the tank. Maybe he gets injured again, and then Arias comes up. Maybe they split time and Arias slowly takes over.
Of course, also worth considering is the ramifications of the lockout. It could end up being a shortened season. There could also be an entirely new financial structure for teams to contend with.
It seems inevitable that Arias is coming for the shortstop job with the Red Sox. It’s just a matter of when Boston moves on from Story for him.
Red Sox Have Major Questions to Answer Before Moving SS Trevor Story