Red Sox

“Not going to hide from what he’s meant to this team defensively.”

Trevor Story didn’t mince words over the weekend when asked about the uphill climb he faced after suffering a dislocated left shoulder on Saturday.

“It was a significant injury,” Story said. “It’s just frustrating. It’s not fun, man. Not fun getting injured. I’m gonna miss games. It was a kind of a freak thing. I’m going to miss a little time, for sure.”

Turns out, the 31-year-old shortstop might be sidelined for a lot longer. 

Speaking ahead of Boston’s home opener at Fenway Park on Tuesday against the Orioles, Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow said that Story will undergo shoulder surgery on Friday in Los Angeles with Dr. Neal ElAttrache.

With a recovery timeline of six months, Story is expected to miss the remainder of the 2024 season.

“After speaking with our medical staff, further confirmation of a second opinion and Trevor’s decision to go forward — we had talked about some concerns over the bony structure. He’s got a fracture of the glenoid rim,” Breslow said of Story. “So he’ll have surgery on Friday to fix that with Dr. ElAttrache.”

Alex Cora offered up a bad omen about Story’s status earlier on Tuesday, noting that Story needed to undergo further testing on the state of his damaged shoulder.

“There’s concern with the bone structure,” Cora said of Story. “So he’s going to get a second opinion on Friday.”

Tuesday’s news stands as the latest setback for Story, who has missed significant time with the Red Sox since signing a six-year, $140 million contract to come to Boston in 2022. He only played 94 games in his first season with Boston due to several injuries, and then underwent major surgery to repair the UCL in his throwing elbow in January 2023. 

As a result of that shoulder procedure, Story did not make his 2023 season debut until August — ultimately playing in just 43 games.

Story was finally healthy throughout spring training this winter, and was expected to give Boston a significant boost at shortstop in his third season with the club. Over eight games this year, Story batted .226 with three doubles and four RBI.

“Very significant,” Breslow said of Story’s absence. “Not going to hide from what he’s meant to this team defensively. Full confidence that offensively, he was going to contribute as well. We saw what he could do in spring training.

“I think fortunately, he’s emerged as a leader of this team, and there’s still going to be a way for him to positively impact it. Unfortunately, it just doesn’t seem like it’s going to be on the field right now.”

With Story likely sidelined for the rest of the 2024 season, both Breslow and Cora stressed that Boston will likely instill a platoon at shortstop and second base for the time being.

“We’re going to platoon at second and short,” Cora said before the homer opener. “(David Hamilton) will play against righties at short and Romy (Gonzalez) will play probably short against lefties. Then, Pablo (Reyes) and (Enmanuel Valdez), they’ll do that at second.”

Vaughn Grissom, who was expected to be the everyday second baseman before suffering a groin strain in spring training, could join that infield mix in the coming weeks. Grissom — who was acquired by Boston in the trade involving Chris Sale — is expected to begin his rehab assignment down in the minors later this week.

Elsewhere, the hits kept on coming for the Red Sox.

Just a few hours before their home opener, the Red Sox announced that they placed right-handed pitcher Nick Pivetta on the 15-day injured list due to a right elbow flexor strain.

In a corresponding move, Boston called up lefty Brennan Bernardino from Triple-A Worcester to fill Pivetta’s roster spot.

Pivetta’s IL designation is retroactive to his last start on April 6. The 31-year-old pitcher has played a key role in Boston’s strong start to the season on the mound, with the Red Sox leading MLB with a 1.49 ERA so far this year.

“He’s got a mild strain of his flexor,” Breslow said of Pivetta’s injury. “Noted that he was having some trouble recovering, start to start and felt like this was a good opportunity to take advantage of off days early in the season.”

Pivetta had a strong start to his 2024 season, going 1-1 with a 0.82 ERA and 13 strikeouts over 11.0 innings of work. He was originally slated to pitch Boston’s next game against Baltimore on Wednesday night. 

After a sluggish start to the 2023 season, Pivetta has been one of Boston’s most effective pitchers — posting a 2.79 ERA over his last 10 starts, dating back to last July. 

The Red Sox have been stung by the injury bug over the last month, with Boston already losing another starter expected to log heavy innings this season in righty Lucas Giolito during spring training. 

Giolito underwent surgery to repair damage in his right elbow’s ulnar collateral ligament in March, which will sideline the veteran for the entire 2024 campaign.

Even with Pivetta’s setback, Breslow said that the Red Sox are hopeful that Pivetta won’t have to miss much time beyond his current IL designation.

“I think that’s a reasonable goal,” Breslow said of Pivetta returning shortly after that 15-day IL stint ends. “Obviously, it’s really difficult to put a firm timeline on these things. But we think that’s reasonable.”