MLB Notebook: Trevor Story’s injury clouds Red Sox future with Mayer waiting in wings; Pivetta joins Jansen in trade rumor mill

Trevor Story’s redemption tour has hit another untimely speed bump.

The 31-year-old shortstop departed with what the team called left shoulder pain after laying out for a ground ball to the left side of the infield in the fourth inning of Friday’s 8-6 series-opening win over the L.A. Angels. 

Story was in visible agony, so much so that it caused Rafael Devers to throw up his hands and cover his head in sympathy. 

“It sucks, you know,” Alex Cora said postgame. “You go out there and he’s in pain and all that, and you start thinking everything he did in the offseason to get to this point, you know. It’s a guy who has very quietly become a leader of this team. He took ownership of what we were trying to accomplish. What we’re trying to accomplish, it’s not gonna stop. Hopefully nothing is going on and he’ll be with us soon.” 

After the game, Story was sans sling and spoke with reporters in a clearly dejected mood. 

“Did something to the shoulder there,” Story said. “You know, pretty painful. … Painful, it just kind of landed all the body weight, you know, on the shoulder there. Um, yeah… it didn’t feel good. … Yeah, frustrating man. Um, a lot of emotions.”

On Saturday, the team got some potential good news when Story was placed on the 10-day injured list with only a left shoulder dislocation/subluxation. Craig Breslow told reporters that it’s unknown if Story will need surgery or when he might be able to return. 

Story’s season started off slowly after an encouraging spring training in which he led the team with 14 RBIs. After going 0 for 2 in Thursday’s game, Story’s slash line dropped to .226/.294/.323 with a team-leading nine strikeouts. He was unable to build any momentum in the 43 games he appeared in last year coming back from UCL surgery and has looked no closer in the eight games he’s played in 2024.

It may very well be the case that Story will never be able to return to the form of the hitter he was before 2021, but the last thing the former multi-time All-Star and Silver Slugger Award winner needs is more time on the shelf…

Door opening for Mayer? 

While Story’s injury might not be as serious as initially feared, one can’t help but wonder if a lengthy absence might expedite the timeline for Marcelo Mayer’s debut in Boston…

There’s an expectation that Mayer could be ready to get the call to the majors sometime during the 2024 season, but the team’s top prospect (No. 15 overall in baseball) will begin his season at Double-A Portland for now. 

The 21-year-old did not get much run during spring training in Grapefruit League, appearing in only two games and going 1 for 4 (a double) with a strikeout. Suffice it to say, the team doesn’t believe he’s ready yet — and that’s probably a fair assessment.

But the reality is that, no matter if Mayer were hitting .140 or .440, he will have to adjust to major league pitching — and that’s likely going to take some time. It certainly did for Triston Casas, who struggled through 27 games in year one before eventually coming into his own during a full 132-game slate a year ago. 

By that point, Casas had nearly 300 minor-league games under his belt. Entering 2024, Mayer has played in 195. If the Sox are planning to stick with a similar timeline, that would ideally put Mayer on track to log roughly one more season in the minors under his belt.

If Story does miss significant time and Mayer gets off to a fast start in Portland, I don’t think it’s out of the realm of possibility to see the wunderkind infielder a little sooner than expected. Of course, there are often ulterior motives at play when it comes to team timelines for promoting prospects, including maximizing organizational control through service time, but the door could be creaking open for Mayer mania to finally reach Fenway.. 

Pivetta, Kenley rumors heating up 

We’ve already heard plenty of rumors — and are continuing to hear more — surrounding Kenley Jansen so far this season, but he isn’t the only Red Sox pitcher who’s apparently drawing interest around the league. 

Two good starts out of the two-hole by Nick Pivetta are helping to validate his status as a trade target, according to Jon Heyman at the New York Post. 

“Nick Pivetta was a trade target this winter, but his value is increasing with two more very good starts. He should do well in free agency,” Heyman writes. 

When I hear “Pivetta” and “outside interest” mentioned in the same sentence, three words come to mind — well, one word, but three times: sell, sell, sell. 

A 32-year-old Pivetta next season isn’t a player worth investing in if the price is indeed going to be high enough for him to “do well” in free agency. He’s been too inconsistent for too long, and if there are buyers beginning to circle the wagons, Breslow would do well to flip Pivetta for prospects to accentuate the rebuild/retool/whatever this thing is… 

As for Kenley, a new team has reportedly entered the mix for the four-time All-Star closer: his first one.

“Kenley Jansen is another potential July trade piece. He expected to be on a contender with Boston. His old Dodgers team looks like a candidate for him,” per the Post.

The 36-year-old has looked like his old self — perhaps even better than he did at any point with Boston last year — through four appearances this season, recording three saves while tossing four scoreless frames and striking out six.

Jansen has made it clear that he expected to pitch for a winner when he decided to join the Red Sox. Maybe that will turn out to be the case if the Sox continue this “hot” start (again, let’s revisit this after playing the Orioles this week…), but it would make the most sense to maximize any value Jansen has before age finally does catch up with him…