Just when it seemed as though things were starting to turn around for the Red Sox, reality dealt them a crushing blow Tuesday.
A week after reaching agreement on a historic contract extension with Rafael Devers, the Red Sox announced that infielder Trevor Story underwent major surgery on his throwing elbow Monday, sidelining him for an extended period. Story had an internal bracing procedure performed on the right ulnar collateral ligament of his right elbow.
The procedure is not as major as Tommy John surgery -- in this modified surgery, the ligament is not replaced but rather supported by a brace -- but recovery time can take as much as five or six months.
Chaim Bloom, in a Zoom call with reporters, declined to offer a concrete timetable for Story's return.
"I certainly wouldn't rule out a return for sometime during 2023,'' said Bloom. "(He could return during the season) but it's not something at this stage that we want to bank on. It'll take how long it takes, but it does leave the door open for a return this season.''
Story had first injured the elbow in 2021, his final season with the Colorado Rockies. The Red Sox were aware of the injury when they signed him last March to a six-year, $140 million, but Story was able to play through the issue.
But when Story began ramping up his throwing program before Christmas, he felt pain in the elbow. After getting two opinions -- one in his native Texas and another in Boston -- the decision was made to undergo surgery.
"It was not,'' Bloom emphasized, "something we contemplated at the end of the season.''
Whether Story remained at second or shifted to short, his original position, in 2023, his loss is significant. Despite some physical setbacks -- he missed time with an illness, a broken bone in his hand and a heel injury -- Story played exceptional defense last year at second, showing expanded range at a new position while adding 16 homers in just 94 games and going 13-for-13 in stolen base attempts.
"I don't think we can sugarcoat it,'' said Bloom of the impact of the loss. "When Trevor was out there, we were a playoff-caliber team.''
Indeed, the team had a winning record (47-41) and in possession of a wild card spot when Story was struck in the hand on July 12. But without Story -- and several injuries to their starting rotation -- the team tumbled out of contention for the next month, never to recover.
The news is a major setback for the Sox. After losing Xander Bogaerts to the San Diego Padres last month, the team was already seeking a middle-of-the-diamond player to take over at either second base, shortstop or center field. Now, with Story potentially lost for most if not all of the upcoming season, the Red Sox essentially need two everyday players at a time when the free agent market is littered with mostly remains and the trade market has been slow to develop.
"It just means there's more to do,'' said Bloom of the predicament the club now finds itself in.
The Red Sox had already been exploring both free agency and trades this winter since Bogaerts left. The team had the flexibility of acquiring a player to play one of three positions -- second, short and center field -- with the internal options of either Story or KikΓ© Hernandez shifting to short. Now, however, they may require two acquisitions.
"We already wanted to strengthen the middle of the field,'' said Bloom. "I would expect we're going to add (from the outside); frankly, that was my expectation even before this. Whether that's through free agency or trade, I don't know yet. What that looks like, who it is...obviously, it's something we were already actively discussing. Now, we're a man down so we're going to have to fortify ourselves further.''
The Sox could elect to have Christian Arroyo take over at second base, leaving them to only land a shortstop.
"From a talent perspective, I think it's there,'' said Bloom of that possibility. "To me, for us to have the roster that we want, we need to have as many good options for Alex as possible. Obviously, Christian's battled some injuries, so from that reason alone, we want to have more insulation. But even without that track record, that's part of our responsibility -- we want to make sure we have a lot of good options to withstand these ups and downs. Obviously, this is a big one, especially coming before the season, before we even get rolling. But we want to make sure we have a number of different options on the infield.''
There's little left in free agency for the middle infield, with Elvis Andrus and Jose Iglesias the best remaining choices.
On the trade front, the San Diego Padres have indicated a willingness to move infielder Ha-Seong Kim and outfielder Trent Grisham. The former could take over at short, with the latter could play center, enabling Hernandez to take over at shortstop.
But few teams have everyday middle infielders (or center fielders) available for trade with just over a month before the start of spring training. Making matters more complicated still is the previous model of offering future prospects for established major leaguers seems to have become outmoded this offseason, and the Red Sox do not have much in the way of expendable, experienced players to offer teams.