The Red Sox won 92 games in 2021, so they were hardly short on talent. But the rich got richer Sunday, with the Boston signing Trevor Story to a six-year/$140 million deal.
And New York Yankees' slugger Aaron Judge is keenly aware that one of the sport's most competitive divisions just got that much harder to win.
"I'm not too excited about it -- I know what that guy can do," Judge said of Story's signing Sunday, per MLB.com's Mark Feinsand. "... It's going to be fun. If we do our thing, I think we'll be in a good spot."
Story -- a two-time All-Star -- will shift from shortstop to second base, with Xander Bogaerts entrenched at shortstop in Boston. Story did have a relative down year in 2021, but he's slashed .277/.348/.516 with 70 home runs, 188 RBIs and 12.0 fWAR over the last three seasons, making him one of the most productive position players in baseball.
While Story will no longer have the benefit of playing his home games at Coors Field, playing 81 games a year at Fenway Park is hardly a punishment. The two-time Silver Slugger Award winner will be joining a lineup that includes the aforementioned Bogaerts, along with Rafael Devers, J.D. Martinez and Kiké Hernández.
Judge and the Yankees will not only have to compete with the Red Sox, but last year's American League East Champion Tampa Bay Rays and a Toronto Blue Jays team that has acquired Matt Chapman, Kevin Gausman and Yusei Kikuchi this offseason after winning 91 games in 2021.
It's a good thing that there's six playoff spots in each league now...
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