Healthy Story 'excited to show Boston' what he can do

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- The record shows that the upcoming season will be Trevor Story’s third with the Red Sox.

The reality is that 2024 could be Story’s true coming-out party in Boston.

A brief synopsis of Story’s time in Boston to date:

He didn’t sign with the club until Spring Training was well underway in 2022, and then he had to acclimate to a new position at second base. He also dealt with two significant injuries that held him to 94 games, 16 homers and a .238 batting average.

In January 2023, while building up for his return to shortstop, Story discovered he needed major surgery on his right elbow. He didn’t return until August, and once he did, he was playing catch-up in what wound up being a 43-game season with a .203 batting average.

Now? Story is strong and healthy again and aims to be the veteran leader for a team that is set to rely on a lot of young players in 2024.

“He’s been a leader since Day One,” said Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran. “His presence, his attitude and what he brings to the table. He keeps us loose, and he’s such a good leader. I’m excited to see him fully healthy and see what he can do for us.”

If things go as planned, Story will be the middle-of-the-order bat the team needs to surround Rafael Devers and Triston Casas. Putting his right-handed bat in the middle of the two lefty sluggers could be vital to Boston’s offense.

“That's important to me, because I pride myself on being a well-rounded player,” Story said Saturday from the team’s annual Winter Weekend event. “And I know that's who I am. And I haven't shown that over the first couple years here in Boston. The defense has been there, but I’m really excited to show Boston and the fans who I am as a total package. I feel like it's kind of the first time I'll be able to do that.”

While fans won’t see the results of Story’s improved health until the games start, Red Sox hitting coach Pete Fatse has enjoyed a sneak preview.

“You see him walk around here, you see the physicality,” Fatse said. “I was down with him last week [in Texas], and we hit the last couple days when he was in Boston prior to this, and he looks great. He's moving well. And ultimately, those are the kinds of signs you want to see at this point, but he's explosive. I think his offseason program was really good, and it's the first time in roughly three years he's had an offseason structure like this. So I think that's going to be huge for him.”

When Red Sox manager Alex Cora was asked who he was looking at as a team leader, he immediately cited Story. If Cora needs a player to deliver messages to any portions of the clubhouse, Story is likely to be the man Cora will entrust to carry it out.

“I think Trevor has taken a step forward,” Cora said. “He’s a guy that is very hungry to win. He hasn't had that opportunity. Well, he's had the opportunity, but it hasn't happened for him. So, Trevor has been great throughout the process. The last few weeks, we've been in touch with everything.”

The 31-year-old Story is at a point in his career where he relishes the added responsibility.

“It's something you have to embrace,” Story said. “You certainly can't force leadership. It has to come naturally. There are different styles to it. Just me embracing that over the last few years, going into year nine for me, sometimes it happens at different times for different guys, but I do feel that I'm ready for that, and like I said, I'm embracing it, and it's definitely a lead-by-example type thing, but being more vocal at the same time.”

One message Story conveyed on Saturday is that he’s not moping about the lack of major offseason moves by the Red Sox so far.

“We try not to put energy and time into stuff that we don't have our hands on,” Story said. “That's hard to do. But you try to really focus on, what can I do? Who can I help to kind of elevate? Those are the types of things that we're working on and trying to get the best out of the group that we do have. So I guess that's the simple answer there.”