Red Sox star on track to make a midseason debut

Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters on Sunday, including Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic, that shortstop Trevor Story is doing well in his rehab, and provided an update about his progress. Story has begun regularly fielding groundballs in the infield dating back to camp this spring, and will begin throwing in two weeks. He’ll advance to hitting next month, sixteen weeks after his elbow surgery. That’s great news for Boston fans, as it means Story is still on track to make his season debut sometime around the middle of the season. As things stand, the Red Sox are relying on Enrique Hernandez, Christian Arroyo and Yu Chang for middle infield duties, with offseason acquisition Adalberto Mondesi joining Story on the IL.

The return of Story would potentially relieve Hernandez of his duties as an everyday shortstop, allowing him to bounce between second base and center field as he did during his past two seasons in Boston. 2023 is the second year of Story’s six-year, $140M deal with the Red Sox. In his first year in Boston, Story slashed just .238/.303/.434 (100 wRC+) in 94 games, though he did post an elite defensive season by Outs Above Average, which gave him a +10 mark for his work at second base. While that sort of production didn’t quite match the expectations associated with the contract he signed, a steady presence like that would be a huge boon to the Red Sox in the second half, given the uncertainty of their middle infield situation.

More from around the American League…

• Michael Brantley has departed Houston for the Astros spring complex in West Palm Beach, as noted by Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. Brantley traveled with the team for the club’s World Series ring ceremony on Opening Day but now returns to Florida to continue his rehab from last season’s shoulder surgery. McTaggart notes the Astros hope to have him back in the “next couple of weeks,” which tracks with GM Dana Brown’s previous statement that Brantley was likely to miss at least three weeks of games. It seems as though Brantley might be back at the earlier end of that estimate, which would surely lift an Astros lineup that will be without Jose Altuve for around two months to open the season.
• Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports that the Rays renewed both left-hander Shane McClanahan’s and right-hander Drew Rasmussen’s contracts for the 2023 season, indicating neither hurler agreed to their 2023 salary. While pre-arbitration players like McClanahan and Rasmussen have no negotiating power over their salaries, they can refuse to agree to their 2023 salary, a symbolic gesture that indicates the player does not agree with the club’s proposed salary. McClanahan will earn $737,000 in 2023 while Rasmussen will earn $73,700. Both players figure to be arbitration eligible this offseason, with McClanahan likely poised to qualify as a Super Two player, while Rasmussen appears set to secure a third full year of service time this season.