BOSTON — The Red Sox are sticking with Trevor Story at shortstop, even after a shaky opening stretch in which he committed three errors in 11 games and was part of a 3-2 loss to the Cardinals on Friday night.
Story said the mistakes came from his footwork and throwing, but he believes those issues are behind him now. He described the way he wants to play shortstop as almost freestyle, saying it is about being athletic and using his strengths rather than trying to make every play look a certain way. “I feel good. Obviously, errors are no good. So it was a bad first week. But feeling good now,” he said.
The early numbers stand out because they come against the backdrop of a far steadier season in the field a year ago. Last September, Story made six errors in seven games near the end of what was otherwise an overall solid year defensively. This time, the Red Sox are not reacting with a move. They already made that call in the offseason, when Craig Breslow said Story would be Boston’s shortstop in 2026 and the club made clear it would not consider shifting Marcelo Mayer to shortstop and Story to second base.
Alex Cora said the team likes Story at the position and trusts what he brings when he is right. “He is who he is. Range-wise, a lot better than last year. Outcome [has been] inconsistent with that. But we like him as the shortstop,” Cora said. He added, “He’s our shortstop, and he’s been elite throughout his career. You’re going to go through [bad] stretches. It happened early in the season for him.”
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Craig Breslow made the same basic point when asked about the decision that was set before spring training even started. “Trevor’s battled through things like this at times. He’s come out of them defensively and at the plate, and it happens pretty quickly. He made some really nice plays defensively [on Tuesday]... He’s been a really good player in this league for a really long time,” he said. Breslow added that keeping Story at shortstop was also meant to give the club stability and certainty while it sorted out the rest of the infield.
The lineup Thursday reflected another part of Boston’s early-season juggling act. Roman Anthony was not in the starting lineup for a second time in 13 games as the Red Sox continued their outfield and designated-hitter rotation. Jarren Duran played left field and Masataka Yoshida served as the DH. Cora said Anthony will play the next five games through the end of the road trip, and he framed the decision as part of the team’s broader rotation: “We’re going to play everybody,” he said. “Masa is putting good at-bats. We need him to keep going. [Duran] didn’t play a few games during the week. This is the rotation... Today was [Anthony’s] day.”
On the mound for the Cardinals, Dustin May picked up his first win of the season against the Red Sox. Willson Contreras went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts. But for Boston, the larger question remains the same one the club answered in the offseason: it has chosen Story at shortstop, and for now the early mistakes are not enough to change that.
