Trevor Story returning to save the day for the 2024 Boston Red Sox was not a spot I had on my bingo card…
The oft-injured shortstop, who currently is recovering from shoulder surgery on April 12th with a six-month timetable for return, left the door open a sliver to make his potential return this season after all.
“We’re having conversations about it now,” Story told reporters in the dugout ahead of Friday’s series opener in Los Angeles. “It’s too early to say if that’s gonna happen or not, but always in my mind, it’s something that obviously if there’s a chance to play in the playoffs, this is why I came to Boston.”
Trevor Story will make his first return to Coors Field on Monday with the Boston Red Sox, according to @IanMBrowne pic.twitter.com/kgrTRfO1UY
— Patrick Lyons (@PatrickDLyons) July 20, 2024
Story’s original timetable would have had him back in the middle of October, which at one time earlier this year seemed insignificant (because who thought they would be playing playoff baseball a couple of months ago?). Now that the Sox are on track to be in contention for a postseason spot, that changes the equation.
A healthy, ramped up Story could certainly be a difference maker for this Sox team come October. Yet it feels like too much of a pipe dream — there’s a lot that would have to break the right way to get there.
First, Story would indeed have to be fully healed on or ahead of schedule. The Sox would, of course, also have to make it to mid-October, which assumes they’d have won a series or two by that point.
In that scenario, would Story even have enough time to ramp back up? If you remember, he hasn’t exactly been someone who heats up quickly at the plate when working his way back from injuries. In the 43 games he played at the end of last year after coming back from UCL surgery, Story slashed just .226/.294/.323 with no home runs and four RBIs.
What would his return mean for Ceddanne Rafaela, who has settled in nicely as a stopgap at short? If Story returned late in the season, Rafaela would almost certainly be transitioned back to center field — which would also have ramifications for Tyler O’Neill and Wilyer Abreu (Jarren Duran ain’t going anywhere…).
Perhaps if O’Neill or Masataka Yoshida are traded at the deadline, that could allow Story to slot in as the designated hitter. But you’re not going to unload two of your more capable bats in July on the off chance another injured slugger might return in two months…
And one thing I certainly don’t want to hear out of the mouths of Sam Kennedy and Craig Breslow is that “Story’s impending return is just like trading for an All-Star at the deadline!” How’d that work out in the case of Chris Sale?
Sure, it might be fun to think about, but it just doesn’t make sense to plan on a Story return this season. If it happens, great — you try to fit him in where he could help the team. But given his track record, I’m not expecting much in the way of an immediate impact…
Meanwhile, the news hasn’t been as hopeful for those expecting Triston Casas back anytime soon. Casas is “still far” off from making his return from a rib cartilage tear, according to Alex Cora on Friday.
“It will be a while,” the manager said.
Earlier this week, I mentioned in a Q&A that it wasn’t time to panic just yet… but if Casas wasn’t starting his rehab assignment in the first two weeks or so out of the All-Star break, then it would be time for concern.
Well, feel free to pound that “panic” button, Red Sox Nation…
And finally, for what it’s worth, Vaughn Grissom began a rehab assignment on Saturday with Triple-A Worcester. He went 0 for 2 with a pair of walks and a strikeout as the DH in his first game since June 1st after suffering another hamstring injury.
Teoscar’s Truth
In another life, Teoscar Hernandez would’ve made a great Red Sox.
And according to the reigning Home Run Derby champ, that dream nearly became reality over the offseason. Except it really didn’t…
“I thought they were going to make (the right offer), but unfortunately they had to wait because they had to make some moves and other stuff," Hernandez told the Baseball Isn’t Boring podcast.
The Sox offered Hernandez two years at $28 million per, but it was a third year that he really wanted. Hernandez said he held out as long as he could because he actually really wanted to come to Boston…
"The Red Sox were one of my favorite teams, and I love playing at (Fenway),” he said.
Ultimately, Hernandez did the smart thing and chose the better offer from a better team. Now, instead of hitting bombs at Fenway, he’s slugging homers left and right at Dodger Stadium — and he’s got a shiny new Home Run Derby trophy, to boot.
None of this is particularly surprising, as it’s not exactly news that the Red Sox decided to be cheap last winter. But it is important to note because other players around the league are definitely paying attention…
“Teams that want to win, they spend,” Hernandez said.
Ouch…
Big Papi, Little Papi
LeBron James isn’t the only star athlete with a son who plays the same sport, you know…
The son of David Ortiz happens to play baseball, too. And now, he’ll be doing so for the organization where his dad made his name.
Welcome to the Red Sox, Little Papi.
D’Angelo Ortiz’s selection by the Sox in the 19th round of this year’s MLB Draft was a definite feel-good story. David Ortiz is Boston’s favorite son, so what does that make the son of Boston’s favorite son?
In essence, royalty.
But was the pick just a courteous nod to one of the greatest players in franchise history, or does the team actually think the younger Papi has a future on the diamond?
The fact that Ortiz’s son was taken with Boston’s second-to-last pick would lend credence to the latter.
"It means a lot to the organization, but I just want to make it clear that D'Angelo is a prospect and the reason we selected him is a result of our relationship, that our area scout Willie Romay had with the player for a long time,” Sox scouting boss Devin Pearson said.
Pearson added, ”We had him at a workout recently and got to interact with him and just felt like it was a good add to the organization. And it's a plus that his dad's David Ortiz. But, we drafted him as as a prospect."
Alright then, so let’s look at the numbers. D’Angelo Ortiz, listed as a 6-foot-1, 190-pound third baseman/outfielder, most recently played at Miami Dade College, whose website says he played 48 games for them — batting .328 with a home run and 38 RBIs.
D’Angelo also spent some time locally playing for the Brockton Rox in The Futures League, slashing .325/.426/.350 with 64 hits and 42 RBIs across 54 games over two seasons in 2022 and 2024.
Unfortunately, of those 64 hits — only five went for extra bases, none for triples, and none for home runs. So it seems D’Angelo doesn’t have his father’s knack for the big fly, which at his listed frame isn’t all that surprising.
It looks like D’Angelo might be able to hit for average, though. Only time will tell how he’ll fare against professional pitchers. He did just turn 20 years old not 17 days ago, so there’s plenty of aging and learning of the game yet to be done.
But it’s a good story, nonetheless. No matter how his playing career turns out, it will always be that.
Joe’s Call to the Hall
Joe Castiglione is a Hall of Famer.
Not just a Red Sox Hall of Famer (he already is one). Not just a Massachusetts Broadcasters Hall of Famer (he’s in that one, too). But a Baseball Hall of Famer, taking his rightful place in Cooperstown on Saturday after receiving the Ford C. Frick Award honoring broadcasters who have made “major contributions to baseball.”
Can you believe it?
Actually, yes. Yes I can. But Joe, he’s still having a difficult time processing it all…
“I never thought this award would be possible with so many worthy candidates, and I’m honored to have been selected by previous winners,” the 77-year-old Castiglione said near the beginning of his acceptance speech.
Castiglione went on to speak for about 15 minutes, including a joke about how he accidentally hit the “call end” button instead of the speakerphone button when his call to the Hall finally came.
“Yes, I hung up on the Hall of Fame. It was a long 30 seconds until they called back,” Castiglione said to laughs.
Maybe that was fitting, because… seriously, what took them so long?
Castilgione noted that he too, like so many before him, wanted to play the game he now broadcasts for a living. But he eventually settled into exactly what he was supposed to be doing.
“My first hope was to be Mickey Mantle,” Castiglione said. “But I think broadcasting baseball has always been my true vocation guided from above.”
Castiglione later concluded, “At my 50th college reunion, a classmate said to me, ‘You’re the one guy who did exactly what he said he wanted to do.’ What a blessing. This honor caps the many blessings I’ve had, and the catchphrase fits so well. ‘Can you believe it?’”
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: a significant moment in time, particularly one in sports, can truly be made or broken by the broadcaster behind the microphone.
It’s not, for instance, that the Red Sox winning their first World Series in 86 years wouldn’t still have been special had Castiglione not been in the booth at the old Busch Stadium. Yet in that moment, that moment in time, and for so many others in Red Sox history, Castiglione was exactly where he was supposed to be.
His call of the final out of the 2004 World Series — “swing and a ground ball stabbed by Foulke, he has it. He underhands to first. And the Boston Red Sox are the world champions! For the first time in 86 years, the Red Sox have won baseball’s world championship. Can you believe it?” — will forever be etched into our minds and hearts. Heck, I even owned a toy baseball as a kid that repeated that very call anytime you squeezed it….
Thank you, Joe, for providing the perfect soundtrack to the most iconic World Series moment in history and the most successful run of the modern era.
Joe Castig, a Hall of Famer? You’d better believe it…
Gethin Coolbaugh is a columnist for Boston Sports Journal. Follow him @GethinCoolbaugh on X/Twitter.
