Did Trevor Story’s reluctance to get vaccinated hold up his deal with the Red Sox?
On Thursday, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported Story’s unvaccinated status was an issue for the Red Sox during their negotiations. But Story eventually relented, and Boston inked the slugging infielder to a six-year, $140 million contract.
Story addressed the topic with Merloni and Fauria.
“Decisions like that are very private matters. For me, those kinds of things are between me and my family,” Story said. “With that being said, I’ll be available for my teammates 162+, and chasing championships.”
Earlier this week, WEEI’s Rob Bradford outlined how Xander Bogaerts’ recruiting call to Story convinced him the Red Sox were the best place for him. But Bogaerts also sold Story on something else: getting vaccinated. With Canada imposing a mandatory quarantine on unvaccinated travelers, players who aren’t immunized won’t be able to play road games against the Blue Jays.
That’s a big problem for the Red Sox, who will play 10 games in Toronto this season. Bogaerts, who was unvaccinated last year, told Story that scheduling quirk is one of the factors that prompted him to reverse course, Passan reports.
Story told Merloni and Fauria that speaking with Bogaerts also put him at ease about shifting to second base.
“Once he called me and we had a conversation, I gelt really, really good about it,” Story said. “It’s been seamless since I’ve been here.”
Story has slashed .272/.340/.523 and averaged 34 home runs per season during his six-year big league career.
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