Yet another surgery, long-term injury proves Trevor Story’s Red Sox contract is a disaster

Trevor Story was the biggest money contract the Boston Red Sox gave out during the Chaim Bloom era. It was heavily scrutinized at the time because the Red Sox already had their franchise shortstop, Xander Bogaerts, who fans were hoping was going to be resigned to a long-term extension, and because it was widely known that the then 29-year-old shortstop was going to need major elbow surgery on his throwing arm.

The Sox were able to get Story to sign an under-market value contract for a player of his pedigree due to the arm issues — six years and $140 million. In six seasons in Colorado, the righty was a .272 hitter with an .863 OPS and 158 home runs. Despite the heavy scrutiny, there was some optimism that he could continue his form in Boston and give them more right-handed pop.

Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. In 2022, Story missed time due to two separate injuries: a fractured wrist and a bruised heel. He played just 94 games. Most of 2023 was lost due to the internal brace procedure he got to fix his throwing elbow, and he played just 43 games. In 2024, he injured his shoulder in early April, diving for a ball, and required surgery, meaning he played just 26 games. The righty only played 163 of a possible 486 games (~33.5%) over the first three years of the contract.

Trevor Story's contract with Red Sox is officially irredeemable due to injuries, surgeries

The first three years of the contract were an utter disaster. In 2025, at age 32, Story finally stayed healthy. He played 157 games, eclipsed 20 home runs for the first time in Boston, was a 3.8 bWAR player, and helped the Sox reach the playoffs for the first time since 2021. It seemed like Story's injury luck may have changed, and Red Sox fans were cautiously optimistic for the final two years of the contract.

That optimism wasn't rewarded. Story really struggled to start 2026, and Red Sox Nation finally received the explanation. The 11th-year shortstop had been dealing with a nagging sports hernia since spring training, and the Sox finally put him in the injured list on May 16th. On May 21st, Story had surgery to repair the hernia, and he will miss 6-10 weeks.

The sports hernia puts the nail in the coffin of Story being on the all-time bad Red Sox contracts list. When a player receives a contract the size of Story's, the idea is that they will be a productive player for the team for at least four of the six years. With a little over a year and a half to go on the contract, Story has been productive for one, and has been on the bench for about three and a half. Though most of it hasn't been his fault — some of those injuries were freak accidents — it isn't easy thinking about the butterfly effect having his contract on the books has caused.

Story opted into the final two years of his contract last offseason. Heading into 2026, he had two years and $50 million remaining. His age, injury history, contract, and lack of production make him practically untradeable at this point, meaning he'll be a Red Sox through 2027. The hope is that once healthy, he can stay that way and find his form from the second half of 2025. He'll have to be an MVP candidate next year to make the contract worth it, though.

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