Trevor Story made an appearance at Fenway Park on Monday afternoon, playing catch at 120 feet and making plays from shortstop. Story will remain in Boston for the rest of the week as he continues to rehab from internal brace surgery on his elbow.
The Sox shortstop is expected to take batting practice on the field over the course of the week. Story is working towards the possibility of rejoining the team as a designated hitter at some point in July.
It’ll be some time before he’ll be able to play the field for the Sox, Story’s expectation is that he will play shortstop sometime in August.
“It’s on the table. It’s still definitely a possibility,” Story said about possibly returning as DH to reporters. “I’m getting ready for that. That’s something I really want to do. There’s a lot of stuff that goes into it though. It’s not as simple as it seems. I’m getting ready for that and I think we’ll make that decision here in the coming weeks.
“That’s obviously exciting to me,” he added. “Being able to impact the team with my bat is something I feel like I can do.”
Story underwent surgery back in January on his right ulnar collateral ligament. Prior to arriving at Fenway Park on Monday, Story has been rehabbing over the last four months at the Sox training facility in Fort Myers.
While training in Florida, Story has been getting stronger but there has not been a definite timeframe announced for him to return to the team up until Monday afternoon. Story hasn’t seen any type of live reps offensively or defensively, in terms of rehab games.
The Sox could use Story’s bat in the lineup, offensively the team has struggled to score runs over the last 26 games. The Sox have only plated 100 runs (3.85 per game) which is 24th in baseball.
As Story continues to come back from his elbow surgery, he could get into game action in the minor leagues. However, Story’s rehab isn’t as simple as just assigning him to Double-A Portland or Triple-A Worcester.
“That’s where it gets tricky,” Story said. “If I go use the rehab games for DH then those are kind of used up. I can’t really just go down and do that for shortstop. That’s where we can get creative with some things but I think this is a live and living thing. Things could change at any point, whether it’s injuries or whatever. As of now, I’m getting ready to be available for DH and things will kind of play themselves out in the next couple weeks or so.”
Story may have to complete his throwing program as an active Major Leaguer and not in the minors like most players would.
“There was a possibility of coming back and playing second at an earlier time,” Story said. “I was very expressive in where I wanted to play and where I think I can still play at a high level.
“There’s different demands playing shortstop but that’s why we’re taking our time with it,” he added. “We’re right in the progression. We’re not going slow, we’re not going fast.”
If Story comes back as a DH-option, Alex Cora will need to figure out how to utilize Justin Turner and Masataka Yoshida. Both have seen time at DH this season; Turner has played 43 games and Yoshida has been penciled in 21 times.
When Boston is utilizing Story at DH, Turner could play second base, but he would have to be used sparingly. Adam Duvall was recently activated from the injured list after missing 50-plus games with a fractured wrist, may also see time at DH as he works back into playing every day in the outfield.
“We have to see where we’re at roster-wise,” Cora said about Story. “I’m not saying no, we always leave the door open for stuff like that, but we also have to be very smart with the roster we have.”
The complication of Story at DH and not being able to play field continues to push players out of position. Kike Hernández has been a disaster at shortstop, making 14 errors, including one in the loss to the Rockies on Monday night. The Hernández experiment has been a failure and he better serves the team in more of a utility role.
If Turner plays second base, again, here or there, he doesn’t present Boston with the best fielding option at the position.
The Sox don’t have any other options but to add Story early and have him DH because offensively they need his power in the lineup.
In his first season in Boston, Story played in 94 games, he hit .238 with 22 doubles, 16 homers, 66 RBI, 13 stolen bases and a .737 OPS.
As Story continues to ween off hitting from the high-velocity machine and moves to traditional live at-bats in rehab games, the Sox will have a clearer picture as to how he can help. Depending where the team is in the standings, there could be subtractions from the roster to make it easier to pencil Story in as the DH. That’s worst-case scenario and likely means the Sox are buried in the basement in the AL East and completely out of the Wild Card race.