Article: Trevor Story Needs To Head To The Bench

[Alex Mayes]

Since I started writing here at Talk Sox, I think I’ve written more about Trevor Story than any other player on the roster. My first article detailed my desire to see him traded, my second wondered if he could contribute in 2025, and my third stated he wasn’t passing the eye test.

That’s a lot for a player that hasn’t yet played a full season in Boston. But, here we are again, wondering exactly what Trevor Story’s role on this team is. The issue now is that he’s effectively blocking Marcelo Mayer from getting the big league call-up that he deserves. Yes, Mayer got off to a slow start during his first taste of Triple-A, but he’s been red-hot ever since, to the point that some scouts are saying that Mayer is more ready for MLB action than Roman Anthony. While there are arguments to be made that the front office is engaging in some service time manipulation for both Mayer and Anthony, the Red Sox are missing thump in their lineup, and Mayer could be just what the team needs to stop getting walked-off every other night. Just look at what he did on May 13 for Worcester.

You’re telling me the Red Sox couldn’t use that type of hitting right now? Of course they could. Oh, but Mayer plays shortstop. You know, the position currently held by Trevor Story.

Let’s look at Story’s batting line so far: .234/.277/.353. Is he the worst hitter on the team? No, but he’s not really contributing either. The biggest issue I still have with Story being the starting shortstop for the Boston Red Sox is when he comes up to the plate with runners on, he’s awful. He’s seen 254 pitches in this situation (that’s 36% of all the pitches he’s stood at the plate for). He has 15 hits, two walks, and 18 strikeouts. If we get a bit more specific and look at just when he is at the plate with runners in scoring position, it gets worse. He has nine hits, two walks, and 17 strikeouts. Want it even worse? With two outs and runners in scoring position, he has three hits, one walk and 10 strikeouts. He’s sporting a slash line of .167/.211/.389.

What are we doing here?

I understand that Trevor Story is a veteran and has gone through so much since coming to Boston, but he’s holding this team back. At this point, he either needs to regulated to the bench or counted as a loss and DFA’d. Of the two options, I believe he should be on the bench. He’s got excellent veteran presence and is still useful in multiple ways as someone who doesn’t contribute on the field every day. Story understands that at the end of the day baseball is a business as much as it is a game — the Rockies let him walk for nothing after he propped them up for years on his shoulders. He knows he’s blocking one of the most exciting prospects to come through Boston’s system in years. At some point, he’s going to have to look in the mirror and realize what we’ve all known for a few seasons now: he’s no longer the player he was signed to be. His contract is an albatross on the front office and it’s almost guaranteed he won’t opt out at the end of the year. None of this means he'd take a benching lightly (we've all seen how much a shift in plans can cause commotion with Rafael Devers), but what's in the best interest of the team isn't always in the best interest of your veteran players.

Craig Breslow didn’t sign Story. Chaim Bloom did. Breslow needs to fix Bloom’s mistake and get Marcelo Mayer up to the big leagues sooner than later. After that, either put Story on the bench to have him spell Mayer every now and then, or cut bait and run. Unfortunately, the Boston Red Sox are a better team with him not getting regular at bats. It’s time to quit stalling and replace Story in the starting lineup.

View full article

[Old Red]

19 minutes ago, Alex Mayes said:

Since I started writing here at Talk Sox, I think I’ve written more about Trevor Story than any other player on the roster. My first article detailed my desire to see him traded, my second wondered if he could contribute in 2025, and my third stated he wasn’t passing the eye test.

That’s a lot for a player that hasn’t yet played a full season in Boston. But, here we are again, wondering exactly what Trevor Story’s role on this team is. The issue now is that he’s effectively blocking Marcelo Mayer from getting the big league call-up that he deserves. Yes, Mayer got off to a slow start during his first taste of Triple-A, but he’s been red-hot ever since, to the point that some scouts are saying that Mayer is more ready for MLB action than Roman Anthony. While there are arguments to be made that the front office is engaging in some service time manipulation for both Mayer and Anthony, the Red Sox are missing thump in their lineup, and Mayer could be just what the team needs to stop getting walked-off every other night. Just look at what he did on May 13 for Worcester.

You’re telling me the Red Sox couldn’t use that type of hitting right now? Of course they could. Oh, but Mayer plays shortstop. You know, the position currently held by Trevor Story.

Let’s look at Story’s batting line so far: .234/.277/.353. Is he the worst hitter on the team? No, but he’s not really contributing either. The biggest issue I still have with Story being the starting shortstop for the Boston Red Sox is when he comes up to the plate with runners on, he’s awful. He’s seen 254 pitches in this situation (that’s 36% of all the pitches he’s stood at the plate for). He has 15 hits, two walks, and 18 strikeouts. If we get a bit more specific and look at just when he is at the plate with runners in scoring position, it gets worse. He has nine hits, two walks, and 17 strikeouts. Want it even worse? With two outs and runners in scoring position, he has three hits, one walk and 10 strikeouts. He’s sporting a slash line of .167/.211/.389.

What are we doing here?

I understand that Trevor Story is a veteran and has gone through so much since coming to Boston, but he’s holding this team back. At this point, he either needs to regulated to the bench or counted as a loss and DFA’d. Of the two options, I believe he should be on the bench. He’s got excellent veteran presence and is still useful in multiple ways as someone who doesn’t contribute on the field every day. Story understands that at the end of the day baseball is a business as much as it is a game — the Rockies let him walk for nothing after he propped them up for years on his shoulders. He knows he’s blocking one of the most exciting prospects to come through Boston’s system in years. At some point, he’s going to have to look in the mirror and realize what we’ve all known for a few seasons now: he’s no longer the player he was signed to be. His contract is an albatross on the front office and it’s almost guaranteed he won’t opt out at the end of the year. None of this means he'd take a benching lightly (we've all seen how much a shift in plans can cause commotion with Rafael Devers), but what's in the best interest of the team isn't always in the best interest of your veteran players.

Craig Breslow didn’t sign Story. Chaim Bloom did. Breslow needs to fix Bloom’s mistake and get Marcelo Mayer up to the big leagues sooner than later. After that, either put Story on the bench to have him spell Mayer every now and then, or cut bait and run. Unfortunately, the Boston Red Sox are a better team with him not getting regular at bats. It’s time to quit stalling and replace Story in the starting lineup.

 

View full article

 

Already paying Masa $18M to be in exile, so what’s another $22M to exile Story.  Roster construction at its finest. Chaim Bloom the gift that keeps on giving.

[harmony]

The rest-of-season wRC+ projections for Trevor Story and Marcelo Mayer at the MLB level are not vastly different (sub-100):

https://www.fangraphs.com/players/trevor-story/12564/stats?position=SS#dashboard

https://www.fangraphs.com/players/marcelo-mayer/sa3017114/stats?position=SS#dashboard

... while their prorated rest-of-season WAR projections are similar as well.

[moonslav59]

42 minutes ago, Old Red said:

Already paying Masa $18M to be in exile, so what’s another $22M to exile Story.  Roster construction at its finest. Chaim Bloom the gift that keeps on giving.

$40M for just these 2!

Bloom sure missed badly on his largest signings, while also failing to find enough worthy bargain basement specials to make a big difference.

[mvp 78]

Trevor Story needs to head to the beach. 🌞🌴

[Maxbialystock]

Good article backed up by persuasive stats.  

Moonslav makes a key point that this mess--both Story and Yoshida--was Chaim Bloom's doing.  But in his defense I would remind everyone that JH was determined to keep the payroll down.  Plus I think Campbell, Mayer, Anthony and others were all the result of Bloom's stewardship of the draft and MiLB development.  

I would of course love to see Mayer moved up and into the SS slot, but I also like Harmony's cautionary note that Mayer might not be a dramatic improvement.  

Right now I'm inclined to support Breslow's judgment on when to bring up Mayer--or Anthony for that matter.  I disagree with how he handled Devers on the 1b caper but not with his overall intent.  I think Devers is an excellent DH, but his value to the team increases if he can hit and play 1b adequately.  

Right now the Sox are ranked 6th in MLB in runs scored and 16th in team ERA.  I think those two numbers beg the question, "why are we obsessed with hitting when our biggest problem is pitching?"

 

 

 

[moonslav59]

7 minutes ago, Maxbialystock said:

Good article backed up by persuasive stats.  

Moonslav makes a key point that this mess--both Story and Yoshida--was Chaim Bloom's doing.  But in his defense I would remind everyone that JH was determined to keep the payroll down.  Plus I think Campbell, Mayer, Anthony and others were all the result of Bloom's stewardship of the draft and MiLB development.  

 

I get that, and have said the same, several times. These two signings were his largest FA deals, but neither was a mega deal. Still, we expect better than this for $40M a year over 5-6 years.

I have praised Bloom's work in other areas as much or more than others. He did a pretty good job on farm building and strengthening the depth of the 40 man roster, which was horrific in 2019.

He did not draft all of the players we see today, but he also did not trade many good ones, and maybe he had a hand in their development. The Houck, Crawford, Bello, Whitlock foursome has been about as good a 4 homies as we have seen since the Theo days. Not great, but a clear improvement.

He also set the table for the Crochet trade by drafting Teel & Meidroth.

[Kimmi]

I get the sense that most people on this site, and Red Sox fans in general, are not going to be happy until both Anthony and Mayer are on the big league roster.  I understand the frustration.  

That said, I'm not willing to bench nor DFA Story yet.  It's a lot easier to eat that kind of money when it's someone else's money.  Not to mention the depth we will lose if we DFA him.

After a slow start (4 games) in March, Story had a 3-week stretch in April where he slashed .378/.403/.608/1.011, with a wRC+ of 183.  Since then, he's had a 3-week stretch where he's been abysmal, slashing .115/.179/.154..332, with a wRC+ of -12.  Both streaks have been fueled by his BABIP during those stretches.

Will he return to the former level of production?  Probably not.  But it's also not likely that he will continue with the latter level of production.  I'd say, give it some more time.

 

 

[Larry Cook]

Theoretically, story should play all these games against Atlanta. We need him to play well enough that Atlanta will trade for him 

[Old Red]

19 minutes ago, Kimmi said:

I get the sense that most people on this site, and Red Sox fans in general, are not going to be happy until both Anthony and Mayer are on the big league roster.  I understand the frustration.  

That said, I'm not willing to bench nor DFA Story yet.  It's a lot easier to eat that kind of money when it's someone else's money.  Not to mention the depth we will lose if we DFA him.

After a slow start (4 games) in March, Story had a 3-week stretch in April where he slashed .378/.403/.608/1.011, with a wRC+ of 183.  Since then, he's had a 3-week stretch where he's been abysmal, slashing .115/.179/.154..332, with a wRC+ of -12.  Both streaks have been fueled by his BABIP during those stretches.

Will he return to the former level of production?  Probably not.  But it's also not likely that he will continue with the latter level of production.  I'd say, give it some more time.

 

 

You are 100% right about posters on this site having money burning a hole in their pockets in this case Mayer, and Anthony, and won’t calm down, and be happy until they are both up in Boston. I don’t see Story getting benched anytime soon let alone be DFA.

[moonslav59]

50 minutes ago, Kimmi said:

I get the sense that most people on this site, and Red Sox fans in general, are not going to be happy until both Anthony and Mayer are on the big league roster.  I understand the frustration.  

That said, I'm not willing to bench nor DFA Story yet.  It's a lot easier to eat that kind of money when it's someone else's money.  Not to mention the depth we will lose if we DFA him.

After a slow start (4 games) in March, Story had a 3-week stretch in April where he slashed .378/.403/.608/1.011, with a wRC+ of 183.  Since then, he's had a 3-week stretch where he's been abysmal, slashing .115/.179/.154..332, with a wRC+ of -12.  Both streaks have been fueled by his BABIP during those stretches.

Will he return to the former level of production?  Probably not.  But it's also not likely that he will continue with the latter level of production.  I'd say, give it some more time.

Story does not need to be benched for Mayer to get a FT slot. Bench Sogard and play Campbell at 1B.

The Anthony promotion is more complex, unless we're okay with making Rafaela the super utility man. (I'm not benching Duran just yet.)

[Kimmi]

46 minutes ago, Old Red said:

You are 100% right about posters on this site having money burning a hole in their pockets in this case Mayer, and Anthony, and won’t calm down, and be happy until they are both up in Boston. I don’t see Story getting benched anytime soon let alone be DFA.

I understand the excitement to have the youngsters called up.  I really do.  When they get called up, I will be excited to have them on the big league roster.  I'm just willing to wait things out a little bit longer.

[Old Red]

Just now, Kimmi said:

I understand the excitement to have the youngsters called up.  I really do.  When they get called up, I will be excited to have them on the big league roster.  I'm just willing to wait things out a little bit longer.

I agree 100%.

[Kimmi]

22 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

Story does not need to be benched for Mayer to get a FT slot. Bench Sogard and play Campbell at 1B.

The Anthony promotion is more complex, unless we're okay with making Rafaela the super utility man. (I'm not benching Duran just yet.)

Perhaps Campbell at 1B would work once he's taken some reps there.  If I'm not mistaken, he's never played 1B.  Yes, I think he would be fine making the transition, but that's a lot to put on a young kid trying to work his way out of a slump.

Is it a coincidence that Campbell's offense took a dive when he was moved to the clean up spot?

[harmony]

6 hours ago, Maxbialystock said:

Good article backed up by persuasive stats.  

***

Right now the Sox are ranked 6th in MLB in runs scored and 16th in team ERA.  I think those two numbers beg the question, "why are we obsessed with hitting when our biggest problem is pitching?"

Going into Friday's games, the Red Sox ranked fourth in the American  League with an OPS+ of 109 and seventh in the league with an ERA+ of 106:

https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/AL/2025.shtml

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

3 hours ago, Kimmi said:

I get the sense that most people on this site, and Red Sox fans in general, are not going to be happy until both Anthony and Mayer are on the big league roster.  I understand the frustration.  

That said, I'm not willing to bench nor DFA Story yet.  It's a lot easier to eat that kind of money when it's someone else's money.  Not to mention the depth we will lose if we DFA him.

After a slow start (4 games) in March, Story had a 3-week stretch in April where he slashed .378/.403/.608/1.011, with a wRC+ of 183.  Since then, he's had a 3-week stretch where he's been abysmal, slashing .115/.179/.154..332, with a wRC+ of -12.  Both streaks have been fueled by his BABIP during those stretches.

Will he return to the former level of production?  Probably not.  But it's also not likely that he will continue with the latter level of production.  I'd say, give it some more time.

 

 

I referenced previously that Story's early production came off a lot of hanging offspeed pitches. The problem is can't hit fastballs anymore.

bb-ref breaks down batter's splits vs. what it calls Power/Finesse Pitchers. Power pitchers are in the top third in the league in strikeouts plus walks. Finesse guys are in the bottom third.

Story is batting .337 vs. Finesse. But vs. Power, he is .086: 3-for-35 with 17 Ks.

[moonslav59]

6 hours ago, Kimmi said:

I understand the excitement to have the youngsters called up.  I really do.  When they get called up, I will be excited to have them on the big league roster.  I'm just willing to wait things out a little bit longer.

Unless someone gets hurt or traded, when is the right time? There will be 4+ established  OF'ers and 4+ established IF'ers.

Only Bregman is not under strict team control beyond 2025.

Are you waiting for someone to suck, so badly, he gets yanked?

Is it about how long the leashes are on Story and maybe Rafaela? Are you expecting them to lose their jobs?

Then, you are adding Yoshida onto your should play list. Do you demote Campbell to make that happen?

[Randy Red Sox]

15 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

Story does not need to be benched for Mayer to get a FT slot. Bench Sogard and play Campbell at 1B.

The Anthony promotion is more complex, unless we're okay with making Rafaela the super utility man. (I'm not benching Duran just yet.)

Actually Campbell could probably use some time at AAA. Play him there at 1B. he has really been scuffling lately.

[Old Red]

26 minutes ago, Randy Red Sox said:

Actually Campbell could probably use some time at AAA. Play him there at 1B. he has really been scuffling lately.

Both Story, and KC are big holes in the lineup right now.

[mvp 78]

20 hours ago, Kimmi said:

I get the sense that most people on this site, and Red Sox fans in general, are not going to be happy until both Anthony and Mayer are on the big league roster.  I understand the frustration.  

That said, I'm not willing to bench nor DFA Story yet.  It's a lot easier to eat that kind of money when it's someone else's money.  Not to mention the depth we will lose if we DFA him.

After a slow start (4 games) in March, Story had a 3-week stretch in April where he slashed .378/.403/.608/1.011, with a wRC+ of 183.  Since then, he's had a 3-week stretch where he's been abysmal, slashing .115/.179/.154..332, with a wRC+ of -12.  Both streaks have been fueled by his BABIP during those stretches.

Will he return to the former level of production?  Probably not.  But it's also not likely that he will continue with the latter level of production.  I'd say, give it some more time.

 

 

I don’t care about Henry’s purse, I care about the standings.

[mvp 78]

13 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

Unless someone gets hurt or traded, when is the right time? There will be 4+ established  OF'ers and 4+ established IF'ers.

Only Bregman is not under strict team control beyond 2025.

Are you waiting for someone to suck, so badly, he gets yanked?

Is it about how long the leashes are on Story and maybe Rafaela? Are you expecting them to lose their jobs?

Then, you are adding Yoshida onto your should play list. Do you demote Campbell to make that happen?

The right time is mid June when you are guaranteed an extra year of control.

[moonslav59]

2 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

The right time is mid June when you are guaranteed an extra year of control.

I'm confused about the whole service time thing. It seems we are way past the the days needed to cross the line.

Is this quote outdated?

In Major League Baseball, a player gains a year of service time by being on the Major League roster or injured list for at least 172 days of a typical 187-day season. To gain an extra year of service time, a player must be on the roster for less than 172 days in a given season. Teams can potentially gain an extra year of control over a player by strategically delaying their call-up to the Major League roster for 16 or more days at the beginning of the season. 

[moonslav59]

6 hours ago, Old Red said:

Both Story, and KC are big holes in the lineup right now.

True, and others aren't helping either.

Our two week leader in PAs is Duran, and he's hitting at a .568 OPS. KC is 6th in PA and at .276, which is barely a good BA, Story is 7th and at .367. Those two OPS are terrible, but the sample size is 10-12 games.

Last 28 days (listed by most PAs)

.749 Duran (not bad)

.994 Devers (had a hot streak)

1.015 Bregman (da man)

.405 Story (trying hard to get Mayer promoted)

.884 Abreu (steady)

.606 Campbell (working himself out of ROY consideration)

.741 Rafaela (keeping Anthony in AAA)

.865 Narvaez (keeping Wong the #2 catcher)

.777 DHam (making a case to stay on the 26)

[mvp 78]

On 5/17/2025 at 3:33 PM, moonslav59 said:

I'm confused about the whole service time thing. It seems we are way past the the days needed to cross the line.

Is this quote outdated?

In Major League Baseball, a player gains a year of service time by being on the Major League roster or injured list for at least 172 days of a typical 187-day season. To gain an extra year of service time, a player must be on the roster for less than 172 days in a given season. Teams can potentially gain an extra year of control over a player by strategically delaying their call-up to the Major League roster for 16 or more days at the beginning of the season. 

Moon, I've answered this directly to you five times already. I'm not doing it anymore. What's the point? 

[TheSplinteredSplendor]

Red Sox quietly reaching breaking point with veteran leader’s offense

[moonslav59]

18 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Moon, I've answered this directly to you five times already. I'm not doing it anymore. What's the point? 

Thanks for answering the sixth time.

😜

[mvp 78]

21 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

Thanks for answering the sixth time.

😜

1. Super Two status - additional 4th arb year if brought up before mid June

2. Top two in ROY voting earn a year of service time (i.e. the Sox lose that extra year of control and wouldn't get a PPI as Roman/Mayer weren't on Opening Day roster)

[Kimmi]

On 5/16/2025 at 8:15 PM, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

I referenced previously that Story's early production came off a lot of hanging offspeed pitches. The problem is can't hit fastballs anymore.

bb-ref breaks down batter's splits vs. what it calls Power/Finesse Pitchers. Power pitchers are in the top third in the league in strikeouts plus walks. Finesse guys are in the bottom third.

Story is batting .337 vs. Finesse. But vs. Power, he is .086: 3-for-35 with 17 Ks.

I can't argue with what you've posted.  It makes sense.  Being too lazy to look up the opposing pitcher in each game, I'm wondering if we faced a lot of finesse pitchers in April, while facing more power pitchers in May?

[Kimmi]

On 5/17/2025 at 12:06 AM, moonslav59 said:

Unless someone gets hurt or traded, when is the right time? There will be 4+ established  OF'ers and 4+ established IF'ers.

Only Bregman is not under strict team control beyond 2025.

Are you waiting for someone to suck, so badly, he gets yanked?

Is it about how long the leashes are on Story and maybe Rafaela? Are you expecting them to lose their jobs?

Then, you are adding Yoshida onto your should play list. Do you demote Campbell to make that happen?

I don't have a specific timeline on calling up Anthony or Mayer.  I just know that, for me, it's not in April or May.  I'm really not expecting anyone to get yanked.  As they say, these things have a way of working themselves out.   It may be due to an injury, it may be due to a midseason trade, or it may be due to someone continuing to underperform.  We're not going to lose Anthony or Mayer if we don't call them up, so I'm not in any rush to do so.

[Kimmi]

On 5/17/2025 at 1:19 PM, mvp 78 said:

I don’t care about Henry’s purse, I care about the standings.

Of course.  But Henry does care about his purse.