Shortstop Trevor Story will make his long-awaited season debut for the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday against the visiting Kansas City Royals, manager Alex Cora told reporters on Monday.
Story, 30, had an internal bracing procedure of the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow in January and was on the 60-day injured list. Cora had said Sunday that Story would play the maximum 20 days of the minor league rehabilitation assignment that expires Wednesday. The earliest he then could have returned to Boston was Thursday.
Story, instead, will be activated Tuesday for Boston and not play for Triple-A Worcester. Since starting his rehab assignment on July 21 with Double-A Portland and later with Worcester, Story has hit .300 with four home runs, nine RBIs, a 1.117 OPS and four doubles in 40 at-bats in a total of 13 minor league games.
“It’s just the bounce back,” Cora had said Sunday. “It’s spring training for him. I don’t think it’s the repetitions and all that. It’s how he feels body-wise, and the only guy that feels that is him. We’re supporting him. We’re helping him out with everything and, hopefully, after three or four days he feels ready, he feels good physically and we can move forward.
“People react differently to the rehabs, and we have to respect the fact he feels this way. He’s the only guy that can tell you how he feels. It’s not on us to assume that he should be OK. That’s the way I see it.”
Story hit a career-low .238 with 16 homers, 66 RBIs and 13 stolen bases in 94 games last season, his first with Boston. With Xander Bogaerts at shortstop, Story shifted to second base, where he spent all 94 games.
In seven major league seasons with the Colorado Rockies (2016-21) and Red Sox, Story is a career .268 hitter with 174 home runs, 516 RBIs and 113 steals. He is a two-time All-Star.
After leaving the Rockies, he signed a six-year, $140 million contract as a free agent.
–Field Level Media
