The easiest solution to the Boston Red Sox's myriad of infield questions this offseason always involved moving Trevor Story to the other side of the second base bag. Though a quality shortstop, he excelled at second in 2022 (10 Outs Above Average) and could have made room for Marcelo Mayer to take over his natural position in the middle infield. In turn, the Red Sox could re-sign or replace Alex Bregman at third base, leading to a stable and defensively-sturdy unit behind the pitcher.
Well, time to throw those plans out the window. At the annual General Manager Meetings in Las Vegas, chief baseball officer Craig Breslow told reporters that the team remains wholeheartedly committed to playing the soon-to-be 33-year-old at shortstop.
“I’m aware of some of the errors. I’m aware of what some of the defensive metrics indicate,” Breslow said as the GM Meetings began. “I also think that he brought a stabilizing presence to the infield. I think some of his errors were clustered toward the end of the season, in just a short time period... When Trevor was playing shortstop, we felt like balls that were put in play to the shortstop were going to be converted into outs.”
So, with Story locked in at the six, what does that mean for the Sox's plans moving forward?
Red Sox must take pressure of Marcelo Mayer, surround Trevor Story with options this offseason
The biggest fallout from this news is that Marcelo Mayer now becomes the epicenter of Boston's infield plans this offseason. What it decides to do with the top prospect will determine a lot. If that sounds scary considering he's an injury-prone 22-year-old who has played all of 44 games in the big leagues, then you're right in the right place.
Mayer's offense will need some work after the rookie posted an 80 wRC+ with Boston in 2025, but he's a sure-handed defender who can handle any position on the infield. If he moves to second base to form a double-play tandem with Story, the Red Sox can spend the offseason focusing on adding power bats to the corner infield positions, whether by way of re-signing Alex Bregman or pursuing someone like Pete Alonso or Munetaka Murakami in free agency.
If instead Mayer takes over Bregman's vacated spot at the hot corner, the Red Sox could look to team to team up with a veteran who is limited to playing second base. Gleyber Torres (free agency) and Ketel Marte (trade) likely represent the best options in that scenario.
Of course, the Red Sox could run the risk of playing Kristian Campbell at second base, but after his porous defensive showing in 2025, it sounds like he'll be moved to the outfield on a full-time basis from now on.
That could then lead to a trade of Jarren Duran or Wilyer Abreu (or both), opening a corner outfield spot for Campbell and/or Jhostynxon Garcia. Boston could use its established big-league talent to get someone like Marte for the lineup, or perhaps Freddy Peralta for the rotation.
There's a million other variations you can cook up now that Story is confirmed to be the shortstop in Boston. No matter how you slice it though, there's clearly going to have to be a lot of roster shuffling to make all the pieces fit. A healthy season from Mayer in 2026 would go a long way toward quieting any concerns about the state of the infield.