Red Sox: Trevor Story’s defense is more than making up for his quiet bat

Trevor Story’s defense has been a boost for the Red Sox

Trevor Story hasn’t been with the Red Sox very long but he’s taking to Boston like a Duck Boat to the Harbor. He’s had some timely hits, has shown his heart and has made some absolutely beautiful defensive plays. In fact, it’s the work he’s done with his glove up to this point that has endeared him the most to the Fenway Faithful.

A lifelong shortstop, when Story signed with the Red Sox he knew he’d be moving to second base, a position he knew nothing about. Thanks to the fact that he’s just a fantastic athlete and his work ethic he’s been able to adapt in a short amount of time to his new home. Whether it’s been turning lighting fast double-plays with Xander Bogaerts or leaping for line drives, it looks like he’s been at the spot his entire career.

Last night added another chapter in the already developing story of Story’s defense and why it’s buying him time as far as his bat is concerned. The Rays had stormed back and with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth, Wander Franco strolled to the plate. Franco had already launched two missiles on the night and I’m sure I wasn’t the only one that was having heart palpitations.

"“I felt like I had a good beat on it the entire time,” Trevor Story said. “It was just a matter of if I was going to dive or slide. Franco can run. So a slide and pop-up was the quicker way to do it.”"

Franco sent an absolute bullet Story’s way and like a damn cat, he slid, snagged the ball, and had it to first to save the game. The way things have been going for the Red Sox in 2022 I was fully expecting the ball to sneak through and the Rays to walk it off, but Big Trev wasn’t about to let that happen.

Since joining the Sox, we’ve seen Trevor in 10 of Boston’s 14 games, and currently owns a .231/.286/.282 line with two doubles and four RBI. He is racking up the strikeouts at a slightly concerning pace with 14 already on the year compared to just two walks, but that’ll even out. Obviously getting used to a new team and stadium, in fact, a whole new league, there’s going to be some growing pains. His bat will warm up, but until that happens his glove will aid the team, and he knows that.

"“I was not swinging the bat like I want to, so trying to find ways to help the team. And defense is another way,” he said."

His batting average and OBP aren’t too far below his career numbers, .272/.339 respectively, so those will catch up. I would like to see him get his power back in the swing of things as his SLG is well below what he’s used to. We all know that Coors Field can be an anomaly but his style of hitting more than lends itself to success at Fenway Park. Once the weather starts to climb I think we’ll start seeing him sending balls to Cambridge.

Until then, fully expect him to continue working on his skills at second base in order to best serve the team on the field. His defensive prowess last night was a massive factor in why the Red Sox walked away with the win as he had several great plays during the game. As long as he keeps contributing on that side of the game then he’ll continue to earn some time to get his bat warmed up.

As it stands right now, he’s ranked 4th in the AL for second basemen and 7th overall in all of MLB, per FanGraphs. The season is still incredibly young but that’s wildly impressive for a guy who until this season has never played the position. He’s only going to get better and more comfortable with each practice and game, don’t be surprised to see him stay among the tops in the rankings.

Bringing in Story was a massive deal for the Red Sox and Chaim Bloom. Not only did they show that the roster won’t always be built around bargain buys but they also went and got a former All-Star with Gold Glove-caliber defense. Boston has been in flux at second base since losing Dustin Pedroia and now between Story and some high-level prospects, it appears that the equation has been solved.