A deep dive into newest Red Sox star Trevor Story

My final thoughts on the Red Sox signing Story

As you may remember, I wrote in February why the Red Sox should stay away from Trevor Story. Most of my argument centered around Story’s seeming unwillingness to move off shortstop, as well as his poor defensive 2021 season and his drastic home/road splits.

So am I going to walk back about my criticism of Story? Of course not. I still believe that the Red Sox should have prioritized signing Kyle Schwarber and Kenley Jansen, as closer and outfielder were bigger areas of need than second base, and I still worry about Story’s ability to hit outside of Colorado, despite the success of LeMahieu and Arenado once they left Coors Field.

That doesn’t mean I’m not happy about the Story signing. I will support the acquisition of any player who makes the Red Sox a better team. I, along with the rest of Red Sox nation, would have been outraged had they not signed him. The Red Sox simply could not have gone into the season without adding a marquee player, especially considering all the Blue Jays have done this offseason. Once all of the other big-name free agents had signed, the Red Sox had to go out and get Story.

My thinking has also shifted with Story’s sudden openness to play second base. The deal would not have made sense if Story was insistent on playing shortstop. His move to second base will not only upgrade one of the weakest positions on their roster, but help Story’s defense that declined so drastically last season.

With all that being said, I’m much higher on the Story deal than I would have been a month ago. Any player that has played in one place for their entire career is going to have some questions, but Story’s combination of skills gives him an incredibly high floor. This is a move the Red Sox had to make and only heightens the anticipation for the 2022 Red Sox season.