In the fourth inning of Friday night’s game against the Angels, Boston Red Sox shortstop Trevor Story sustained a left shoulder injury while making a backhand dive to stop a hit by Mike Trout.
The severity of Story’s injury remains uncertain until he undergoes an MRI exam on Saturday. Following Boston’s 8-6 victory, the veteran infielder expressed somberness in the clubhouse.
Story wasn’t even sure if his shoulder had dislocated upon landing with most of his body weight.
“Frustrating, man,” Story said. “A lot of emotions. We don’t know how severe it is just yet, but a lot of frustration. … Pretty painful.”
After managing to get his glove on Trout’s hard grounder, Story found himself writhing in pain upon hitting the grass hard on his left arm and shoulder.
Third baseman Rafael Devers, witnessing Story’s injury, placed both hands on his head in empathy. Story remained on the grass for approximately two minutes, receiving assistance from manager Alex Cora and the athletic training staff before making his way to the dugout.
Having already faced substantial injury setbacks in each of his initial two seasons with Boston, Story’s departure from Colorado for a $140 million, six-year contract hasn’t been smooth.
In 2022, Story played in just 94 games due to injuries to his right hand and left foot, while in the preceding season, he appeared in only 43 games following major offseason surgery on his right elbow.
“You go out there and he’s in pain and all that, and you start thinking about everything he did in the offseason to get to this point,” Cora said.
“He’s a guy that very quietly has become the leader of this team. He took ownership of what we were trying to accomplish.
It’s not going to stop, and hopefully nothing is going on and he’ll be with us soon. But you start thinking about that. That’s the tough part of this job.”
Following Story’s departure, Pablo Reyes stepped in to fill the shortstop position. Manager Cora expressed uncertainty regarding a permanent replacement for Story if needed in the future.
Before exiting the game, Story went 0 for 2 against Los Angeles. Despite his struggles, he began the night tied for the team lead with four RBIs, maintaining a season batting average of .226.
“He’s done everything right, everything possible to (play) more than 150 games and the playoffs,” Cora said. “Hopefully we still can do that, but it was tough to go out there.”