Trevor Story began his rehab assignment with the WooSox on Sept. 1, which means he's a maximum of 16 days away from his return to the Boston Red Sox roster.
But Boston's most recent update on Story suggests he could return well before his 20-day rehab stint expires. Alex Cora stated that the shortstop doesn't need to play a full nine innings in the infield before the Sox bring him back into action.
Ceddanne Rafaela has proven to be a solid defender at shortstop, and even flashes the leather from time to time. Offense has been the Red Sox's biggest issue lately, and Story's right-handed bat is what they most look forward to in his return to the roster.
Story is slated to play two more games with the WooSox on Wednesday and Thursday this week and he'll have a scheduled day off on Friday. Julian McWilliams, a columnist for The Boston Globe, reported that the Sox will evaluate Story's progress after his day off and determine the next steps for his recovery then.
Red Sox give optimistic update about Trevor Story's rehab assignment progress
Red Sox don’t need Trevor Story to play full 9 innings before returning https://t.co/wJeJngciSU
— Christopher Smith (@SmittyOnMLB) September 3, 2024
The 31-year-old shortstop has three hits, one of them a double, in his first two games back on the field. He played five innings at shortstop on Sept. 2, but didn't register a hit in that game. Hopefully, Story can post a more complete performance in his back-to-back appearances on Sept. 4-5.
In 2022, Story posted a .253/.330/.517 slash against lefties, which is a higher success rate than Boston's teamwide .244/.318/.401 slash line against southpaws. The Sox's batting order is heavy on lefties and they've struggled against them in the batter's box. Story's right-handedness could give Boston a palpable boost when it needs it most in its wild card chase.
Cora said Story is fully healed and "in a good spot" physically. If Story can get his bat and defense in lockstep through the rest of his rehab assignment, he'll be a nice lift to the Red Sox on both sides of the ball.