The Boston Red Sox made a big splash over the weekend, as they inked infielder Trevor Story to a major deal.
Trevor Story has reached an agreement with the Boston #Redsox
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) March 20, 2022
The deal will put Story in a Red Sox uniform for the foreseeable future, giving Boston its most notable addition of the offseason.
The 6-year, $140 million contract includes an opt out after the fourth year. The Redsox could void the opt out by adding a seventh year making the deal worth $160 million over 7 years. https://t.co/EyyGN9fpgM
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) March 20, 2022
The Red Sox exceeded expectations in the 2021 season, and they’re clearly ready to take another step forward in 2022.
With Story joining the team, Boston is going to have a very intimidating lineup going forward.
The move has been met with excitement by fans of the club.
However, there are a few question marks that come along with the signing.
Let’s go over them.
3. Will Story Fare Well In A Bigger Market?
Story spent his first six MLB seasons with the Colorado Rockies.
The 29-year-old was drafted by Colorado in 2011, made his MLB debut for the team in 2016, and played in a total of 745 regular season games for the organization before signing with the Red Sox over the weekend.
Colorado is the only market Story has played in so far.
It’s certainly not the smallest market in baseball, but it doesn’t compare to something like Boston.
Playing in Boston comes with tons of pressure, attention, and expectations.
Those are things that Story will have to navigate during his time in a Red Sox uniform.
Over the years, plenty of talented free agents have signed with the Red Sox and flopped due to the pressure of the market, and the hope is certainly that Story won’t have a similar experience.
2. How Will He Handle Playing 2nd Base?
Story has been a shortstop throughout his entire MLB career so far.
That’s about to change, as he’ll shift over to second base with the Red Sox.
Boston has a superstar shortstop in Xander Bogaerts, who will stay there.
It’ll be on Story to make the move to the other side of the infield and figure things out.
This is obviously something that Story considered before signing with Boston, so it’s clear that he’s up for the challenge of learning a new position.
If he can merely be serviceable at second base while producing well at the plate, that’s something the Red Sox will certainly be happy with.
1. Will He Produce Outside Of Coors Field?
It’s no secret that Coors Field does wonders for hitters.
So far, Story has had the benefit of playing all of his home games at that stadium.
That’s no longer going to be the case, as the two-time All-Star will call Fenway Park home in 2022 and beyond.
Story holds a career slash line of .303/.369/.603 at Coors Field, which is a far cry from the .241/.310/.442 line he holds in all other parks.
Those are definitely some eye-opening splits.
Having said all of that, Fenway seems like a phenomenal spot for the slugger to land.
Trevor Story’s 2021 spray chart overlayed at Fenway Park is kinda insane pic.twitter.com/atLlWcMQJU
— MLB Metrics (@MLBMetrics) March 20, 2022
Many Red Sox fans have already begun speculating about how much damage Story will do at Fenway, as the dimensions of the park seemingly bode very well for him.
The former first-round pick would certainly love to prove to the world that he’s capable of performing well outside of Coors Field.
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