The early days of the Boston Red Sox's 2026 season have been unexpectedly frustrating: the team hasn't hit consistently, the pitchers have struggled to limit damage and the defense looks atrocious as ever. At the top of the list of struggling Sox is shortstop Trevor Story.
The veteran has logged eight hits,19 strikeouts and no walks over Boston's first 12 games. His .145 on-base percentage leaves much to be desired from last year's team home run leader. His defense has been the biggest disaster so far as his three errors lead the team.
Before Boston's series-opening game against the Milwaukee Brewers on April 6, Alex Cora moved Story out of the No. 2 spot in the lineup and down to No. 5, a much-needed change that has helped the top of the Sox's order get moving. Before their April 7 game, according to Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic, Story heard that Isiah Kiner-Falefa would get the start against Jacob Misiorowski, so he visited Cora's office before the game to make sure he was still playing (subscription required).
“I love playing, and I think the way to get out of (a slump) is through playing,” Story said after the game. “Sometimes there’s time for a day off, but I felt like Monday was a big step in the right direction with my at-bats and hitting the ball hard and executing my plan better.”
Trevor Story visited Alex Cora's office before April 7 game to make sure Red Sox weren't giving him a day off
Story's effort is admirable and he has come through with two big RBI knocks in the Sox's wins against the Brewers, but he hasn't been consistent enough to expect to play every day, especially when the rest of the team was also struggling. He's hitting just .091/.091/.182 against lefties in 11 at-bats this season and didn't get a hit off Misiorowski.
Story is also 33-years-old with a recent history of serious injuries keeping him on the sidelines. He posted 157 games last season to tie his career-high from 2018, but he's never played more than that. Whether he wants them or not, a player with such a history needs rest days to stay fresh. The Red Sox have more than enough infield depth to cover for him with Andruw Monasterio and Kiner-Falefa in the mix.
It was great to see Story finally show signs of breaking out of his early cold streak, but the Red Sox need to be careful with him. If they plan to lean on him as a power threat in their lineup down the stretch, they'll need to give him enough playing time to keep him from slumping, but not too much to be risky.