Red Sox Star Trevor Story Emerges From Injuries In Better Place
After suffering a significant shoulder injury diving for a ground ball just eight games into the 2024 campaign, it looked like Trevor Story’s season was over.
Nobody would have blamed Story if he packed it in and started looking to next year. He chose to do the opposite.
Story went through a grueling and challenging rehab and stuck with it as he had his eyes on returning and helping a potential playoff push for the Red Sox. Nearly five months after undergoing an arthroscopic repair of the posterior labrum, with an open reduction and internal fixation of the fracture of the glenoid rim, Story got his reward.
The veteran shortstop rejoined the Red Sox lineup on Sept. 7 and played 18 games before the season concluded. It was a small handful of games — he batted .270 with two home runs, six RBIs and five stolen bases — but it was what Story needed. And it set him up to try to put together a bounce-back season in 2025.
“Being able to get back there at the end of the year was big just because I got all those firsts out of the way,” Story told NESN.com this week. “I dove for the first time, I slid, got to swing and miss, got fooled. All the things that you don’t know how your body is going to react until you’re in a game setting. Passed those tests really well in my mind. Being able to do that at the end of the year, put those to rest, and then I’ll show up in spring without those questions. That’s why it’s so big for me.”
Injuries have dominated Story’s time with the Red Sox. The shoulder injury he sustained was his second major injury since signing a six-year, $140 million contract with Boston just prior to the 2022 season.
An internal bracing procedure of the ulnar collateral ligament in his throwing elbow took away a majority of his offseason following his first year with the Red Sox. It also cost him the first 112 games of the 2023 campaign.
Story certainly doesn’t take a healthy offseason for granted after that and he was thrilled he had no issues with his shoulder or elbow this winter as he said he got his “final strength, final range back.”
“It’s been a great offseason. Really happy to say that,” Story said. “… That was a serious (injury) and like I’ve spoken about, it wasn’t easy to get through some of those rough times of rehab.”
As much as the injuries took a physical toll on Story’s body, they might have tested him even more mentally. He conducted his rehab after fracturing his shoulder away from the team, choosing to go through that grind at Elite OrthoSport in Southern California.
With his body healing, he also had to deal with the fact of a second consecutive lost season, a tough pill to swallow for a two-time All-Star who repeatedly posted during his time with the Colorado Rockies.
But Story learned how to bat away any dark clouds that tried to hover over him during his rehab and keep them away, too. He knows how to pick himself up now after these crushing blows. It took “intentional” work to get to that point and to make sure thoughts of another injury being right around the corner stayed out of his mind.
“Where I’ve learned that you can make strides and put these injuries behind you a little faster is where you work on the mental side and you’re very intentional about the thoughts that you let enter your mind and the thoughts that you breed life into. That’s been a big part of my process,” Story said. “That’s the same thing for the future. It’s something that I’ll never go out there playing with fear of injury or fear of not playing well. When I’m at my best, it’s free and easy, we’re having fun out there.”
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Story didn’t get through the mental hurdles by himself. He had help, talking with players from around the league who know the rehab process all too well. He leaned on former teammate Chris Sale, who had his tenure with the Red Sox derailed by injuries before going on to win the National League Cy Young Award this past season with the Atlanta Braves.
“Through guys like that. Sale has been big. One of the best teammates I’ve ever been around,” Story said. “He helped me a lot, especially with my elbow procedure. He just kind of let me know a lot of things to expect. In rehab, it’s a very rollercoaster type way. It’s not just a straight arrow trending up. I think that’s a big thing to realize. That’s kind of the message I’ve talked with other guys about. It’s not a linear thing.”
The 2025 season is a pivotal one for Story. He wants to show he can be the type of impact player that can lead the Red Sox back to the postseason. It’s important for Story to prove he can stay on the field, too, and that could pay dividends since he has an opt-out clause in his contract following this season.
Story has played just 163 games over his three years with the Red Sox and the 32-year-old was limited to 69 games combined the past two seasons. He plans to shatter that number this season if he remains healthy as he’s eyeing to play at least 155 games.
“That’s always kind of the number in my mind,” Story said. “That will always be the number for me. And hopefully way more with the postseason games.”
Two major injuries certainly have altered Story’s career and changed him. But not for the worse. It provided him with a new approach and mentality, something he will take with him into the upcoming season.
Story has tenaciously worked to get back to the player he was when he was playing every day. The adversity wasn’t easy to get through but Story is ready to prove he emerged from it a better version of himself.
“I really pride myself on being consistent. And I know that sounds weird me having not played. But this is how I attack each day, man,” Story said. “I’ve been challenged a lot for me to bring that consistency every day for two years being hurt, but I think that’s where I gained a lot for strength doing that. Mentally, I’m in a much different spot. I’ve learned from the circumstances that I’ve been dealt with. So, I think those will serve me well.
“Obviously, being healthy and playing as many games as possible is the goal. But as cliche as it is, it’s really one day at time. Not looking too far ahead, not dwelling on the last few years that have happened. That’s really as simple as I’m trying to make it.”