Xander Bogaerts and Trea Turner certainly have cases of their own, but if you said that Colorado Rockies star Trevor Story is the best offensive shortstop in baseball currently, there wouldn't be a ton of scoffs in baseball circles.
Since the start of the 2018 season, Story has slashed .289/.352/.542 with 88 home runs and 244 RBIs. And unlike Bogaerts and Turner, there's a real chance that Story - an impending free agent - could be had in a trade this summer.
Assuming the Rockies - who have given no indication that they'll mount a serious attempt to to retain Story - make the two-time All-Star available this summer, he'll be the top position player on the trade market. Ahead of the July 30 trade deadline, here's five potential suitors for Story:
New York Yankees
Could the Yankees consider a trade for Trevor Story?(Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)Given that the Yankees core consists of Gerrit Cole, Aroldis Chapman, Aaron Judge, DJ LeMahieu and Giancarlo Stanton, they are built to win a championship in 2021. Though they'd likely aim to re-sign Story after 2021, he'd be guaranteed to improve their chances to win a World Series this year. Story could play shortstop, Gleyber Torres could move to second base and LeMahieu play first base. The 28-year-old would be a tremendous addition for a core of veterans ready to be pushed over the hump in 2021.
Atlanta Braves
Trevor Story time in Colorado may be waning.(Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)After blowing a 3-1 lead in the NLCS a year ago, the Braves have gotten off to a relatively slow start in 2021. That said, the National League East is very winnable, and the guess here is that the three-time defending NL East champions will have something to say about who wins the division. The Braves biggest area of need may be in the starting rotation, but given that Dansby Swanson has struggled so far this season, the idea of pushing all the chips to the center of the table for Story is an intriguing one.
Oakland Athletics
Trevor Story can become a free agent after the 2021 season.(Christian Petersen/Getty Images)Truth be told, the American League is wide open. With a notable addition or two, there's no reason that the American League West-leading A's couldn't make a deep postseason run in 2021. While Story would certainly be a rental in Oakland, he'd be a massive upgrade over Elvis Andrus, and if Matt Chapman heats up offensively, the two would make for a pretty incredible duo on the left side of the infield.
Tampa Bay Rays
Trevor Story can become a free agent after 2021.(Christian Petersen/Getty Images)Despite trading former American League Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell this past offseason, the defending American League Champion Rays find themselves tied at the top of the American League East, 10 games above .500. The Rays have gotten pretty poor production at shortstop thus far in 2021, a weakness that Story could turn into a strength for the remainder of this season. There's worse ideas than employing Story for the remainder of the year, before giving highly-touted prospect Wander Franco a chance to take over at shortstop in 2022.
San Francisco Giants
Would the Rockies consider trading Trevor Story to a division rival.(Justin Edmonds/Getty Images)OK, so it's pretty unlikely that the Rockies would trade Story within their division. But the Giants are surprise contenders in the crowded National League West, ones that desperately need reinforcements if they hope to compete with the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres for the totality of the 2021 campaign. Story is more likely to be a target of the Giants in free agency - especially with franchise icon Brandon Crawford under contract for the remainder of this season - but stranger things have happened.
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