BOSTON – Boston Red Sox shortstop Trevor Story is close to returning to the team after undergoing shoulder surgery that would have likely ended his season.
Story injured his shoulder on April 5 in Anaheim while attempting to dive to stop a ball hit by the bat of Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels. About a week later, Los Angeles Dodgers team physician Dr. Neal ElAttrache performed arthroscopic surgery on his left posterior labrum.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora said Friday that Story will participate in live batting practice at Fenway Park on Monday.
“Trevor is swinging live, there’s regular BP on Monday,” Cora said before Boston opened a three-game series against the Houston Astros.
Story has been in the infield for some time, and Cora said when the team was in Colorado two weeks ago, it became quite possible that the 31-year-old would play again this season.
The expected recovery time for the injury is six months.
“It’s a huge step, huge,” Cora said. “At our current point, I’m a firm believer that he’s going to be there. I just don’t want to give you a timeline and anything like that because I don’t want to put pressure on him. But he’s putting pressure on us, and that’s the great thing about it.”
When asked where Story stands in terms of fielding, Cora said, “He could play nine innings on defense tomorrow.”
The final – and seemingly crucial – step is to work on the things on your plate.
“He talked about getting a little bit stronger, the reps and the volume, all that stuff, the different shapes of fastballs and breaking balls,” Cora said. “But I think that’s a big step. When I heard it today, I was like, ‘Whoa, OK.'”
Cora said Story played off the tee for a while and made soft throws.
Story is in the third season of a six-year, $140 million contract. In eight games, he has a .226 batting average with four RBIs. In nine major league seasons, he has a .265 batting average with 177 home runs and 534 RBIs.
A bruised right hand sustained on a pitch from Tampa’s Corey Kluber and a bruised left heel limited him to playing in just 94 games in 2022. He played in 43 games last year after undergoing surgery to repair a torn UCL in January and didn’t make his season debut until Aug. 8.
