The second coming of Dustin Pedroia and Xander Bogaerts they most likely are not, but the Red Sox really seem to like what they have in shortstop Trevor Story and second baseman Vaughn Grissom up the middle.
The initial glimpses of the 31-year-old Story back in the field at the start of spring training in Fort Myers have been encouraging. The two-time All-Star is now over a year clear of his surprise UCL surgery that kept him sidelined until nearly the end of the 2023 season — and he looks it.
Now after getting 43 games under his belt last August and September— with 36 of them coming at shortstop — Story is set to do exactly what we were assured he wasn’t here to do upon his signing: take over for Bogaerts as the Red Sox’s starting shortstop.
Story boasts a career .979 fielding percentage with 68 total errors in 3,236 chances in 769 career games at shortstop. In his return last season, he committed two errors in 141 chances at short for a fielding percentage of .986.
For a Red Sox team in desperate need of some good fielding — their 102 errors committed led the American League last season while their .982 fielding percentage ranked third-last in the majors — Story represents the best hope of a defensive resurgence in the infield.
“We know the defensive game is elite, is a game changer,” Alex Cora said of Story’s defense this week in Fort Myers. “And I think the shortstop makes the whole difference here, and not only on the field, but the mindset. You know, the way that he goes about his business I think is going to rub the people around him the right way.”
If Story’s defense is going to rub off on anybody, hopefully it’s his new double-play partner Grissom at second. The 23-year-old infield prospect has been given a green light to win the job. Craig Breslow and Cora remain confident he can hit the ground running.
“(We want to) give Vaughn a chance to run away with the position,” Cora said. “I do believe athletic-wise he’s capable of doing it, and now we’ve got to get him up to speed.”
Of course, Grissom’s defense remains somewhat of a wild card. We really haven’t seen enough of him at the major league level to tell whether or not he’s ready — or capable — of being an elite defender.
Grissom played only four games at second base in the majors with the Atlanta Braves last season, committing no errors in five chances. But his play at shortstop left something to be desired after totaling six errors in 63 chances for a .905 fielding percentage.
Now, I don’t think it’s fair to fully evaluate someone when they haven’t been given consistent opportunities and playing time at a position. Grissom did play only 23 games in the big leagues last season, with 19 coming at short.
As we’ve touched on, his defensive numbers in the minors suggest he is a better second baseman than shortstop (again, in a limited sample size). Over fifty career appearances at second, Grissom has a solid .985 fielding percentage and made only three errors in 202 chances. His career minor league numbers at short dip to a .952 percentage with 42 errors across 872 chances in 234 games.
We won’t know for certain how good a second baseman Grissom is set to be — he’s had all of 94 games played at the position (with 40 coming in his rookie season with the Braves in 2022) in his pro baseball career — until he’s thrown into the fire.
Although this isn’t being discussed right now, it seems logical that if things go south for Grissom this season, a return to second could be a possibility for Story.
Story committed six errors in 378 chances with a .984 fielding percentage in 94 games at second base in his debut season with Boston. On the whole, he’s actually a slightly better second baseman than he is a shortstop with a lifetime .984 fielding percentage at second compared to a .979 percentage at short.
While a proven major league shortstop, Story isn’t getting any younger and his mobility is only going to continue to decrease with each passing season. A move back to second could be in his future — especially with top prospect Marcelo Mayer waiting in the wings.
As exciting as the thought of that future might be, the Red Sox remain excited about the current status of their middle infield duo for now.
“We’re gonna be more athletic, more dynamic,” Cora boasted. “Now we’ve got to make plays and make good decisions.”
Gethin Coolbaugh is a columnist for Boston Sports Journal. Follow him @GethinCoolbaugh on X/Twitter.
