SEATTLE - After exhibiting all the traits of an actual elite shortstop for the last six weeks, Trevor Story was asked before packing his bag for the regular season if he felt like the best version of himself.
“I do,” Story said with a smile.
And there you have it. The credo. The path to the Red Sox busting through all those low expectations and actually make a run at making this summer worthy of your attention.
Across the board, they have to be the best version of themselves.
The stars need to be stars. The young players need to become established. And the maybe need to become certainties. Spring training offered a glimpse into how those sort of evolutions might take place, starting with Story.
What was rolled out in Fort Myers was a player Red Sox fans simply hadn’t witnessed over the past two seasons. That was an always-injured complimentary piece of an uncomfortable puzzle, with the Sox’ big ticket item from two offseason ago having totaled just 137 games while totaling a .685 OPS.
Everything that could go wrong seemingly did, leading Story to a grand total of 36 games at the position the Red Sox desperately needed someone to anchor.
This was not the best-case scenario the Red Sox were banking on, with two last-place finishes helping magnify what happens when things turn the wrong way. Now, Story has the opportunity to represent the blueprint this 2024 is hanging its hat on.
He finished spring training with a .380 batting average, 1.088 OPS and three home runs, while having manager Alex Cora casually mentioning that Story was “one of the best if not the best” defensive shortstops in the game.
The 31-year-old is ready to become a star again, which is good because the Red Sox need more stars.
“Coming back last year was a big step for me, just being able to mentally prove to myself that I’m good, I’m healthy, I can do this,” Story told WEEI.com. “Building on that in the offseason and continuing the strengthening of the arm and the whole body, and really feeling the fruits of that labor now, I really feel like my old self in a lot of aspects, not just defensively. I’m really excited about that. I’m excited about being healthy and playing every single day. That’s what I have hung my hat on for a long time, and I’m eager to get back to that.
“I take a lot of pride in my defense. I’m very prideful in trying to become a complete player. I know that I have proven that I can do that. I haven’t necessarily done that in Boston, yet. But there is a bit of excitement in my eyes and my heart about going out there and being myself. It’s not like I’m going out there trying to do sonething I know I can’t do. That’s why I feel so confident about it.”
This is the heart of the issue facing these Red Sox. All prognosticators have to go by is what has been most recently rolled out.
Rafael Devers is one of the best offensive players in the American League, but has also been one of the worst defenders.
Can Triston Casas do what he did for the last three months for an entire six months?
Tyler O’Neill has looked like the 34-home run, .912 OPS guy from 2021 in spring training, but it’s spring training.
Ceddanne Rafaela could be American League Rookie of the Year, or might be relegated to defense-first, bottom-of-the-order platoon player.
There was a time last year when Jarren Duran was in the conversation for becoming an American League All-Star, and did finish with an .828 OPS and 24 stolen bases. But, again, not enough games. Not big enough of a sample size.
The list goes on. All of the starting rotation. All those new relief pitchers. And even the revamped approaches taken by Cora and chief baseball officer Craig Breslow. There were signs all of it could work, but until it is Hollywood Hills-level of neon during the regular season, all of it is just guesswork.
As the manager succinctly noted last week, “Hey man, the vibe is real. It’s not fake. If they give trophies for vibes, we’re up there." Note: There are no such trophies.
There are also no awards for carrying optimism that there will be more than just one All-Star this time around.
Go down the aforementioned participants: Devers has adjusted his hands to handle fastballs and it seems to have paid off. Casas certainly looks like the Matt Olson-level of player he exhibited from July and on. O'Neill is healthy and looks the part of a guy who finished eighth in MVP voting three seasons ago. Rafaela will be a difference-maker defensively and has exhibited improved plate discipline. Duran has played like a ball of fire for the past three weeks. Tanner Houck is a year off of back surgery. Garrett Whitlock appears to have unlocked a brand new arsenal of pitches. Nick Pivetta's stuff graded out at the top of all spring training pitchers. Isaiah Campbell. Justin Slaten. Greg Weissert. They offer the kind of intrigue complements the late-inning foundation that is Chris Martin and Kenley Jansen.
And then there is Story.
"I go back to Trevor. He's the guy that sets the tone," Cora told Mego & Jones on WEEI from the Seattle Aquarium Wednesday.
The Red Sox need tone-setters. The Red Sox need no-doubt-about-it-ers. Starting Thursday, the true test begins, for the shortstop and his band of unknowns.
