DETROIT -- Trevor Story's chances of a comeback this season, which seemed off the table entirely when he was injured in April and then developed into a plausible concept in mid-July, has turned into reality.

The Red Sox shortstop will start a Minor League rehab assignment on Sunday with Triple-A Worcester, serving as the DH. He will start at shortstop on Monday, take a day off on Tuesday and then go full speed ahead with the goal of bolstering Boston for the stretch run.

This is a scenario few could have imagined on April 5, when Story fractured his left shoulder on a diving attempt on defense in April. And it seemed even less likely a few days after that, when Story fought back tears while talking about surgery, which was outlined -- for all practical purposes -- as season-ending.

¡°It¡¯s great,¡± manager Alex Cora said. ¡°When that happened in [Anaheim], I think everybody thought that was it for the season, and then the surgery. He did an amazing job during the rehab, and he put himself in the conversation now.¡±

Story¡¯s biggest impact will be at shortstop, where he can help settle down a Red Sox infield that has struggled without his leadership.

Now that David Hamilton is out for several weeks with a fractured left index finger, rookie Ceddanne Rafaela, who has held down the majority of games at short while Story has been out, can slide over to second.

¡°The one thing for sure, whenever he's ready, he's gonna help us,¡± Cora said of Story. ¡°He will. The athlete, the defense, the baserunner. Obviously, we understand that the offense is part of it, but it's always a challenge when you come from a long period of absence.

¡°But we'll take the athlete. I think the athlete is going to help us.¡±

To lessen the burden on Story at the plate, Cora plans on hitting him in the bottom third of the lineup. The right-handed hitter has been a middle-of-the-order hitter for most of his career.

¡°He's not going to hit in the middle of the lineup,¡± Cora said. ¡°We already discussed that. He's going to hit in the bottom of the lineup. Obviously, because of where we¡¯re at in season, I'll take that.¡±