Red Sox’ hopes for better infield defense will require improvement from Trevor Story

FORT MYERS, Fla. — When the Red Sox abruptly switched approaches over the winter and focused more on run prevention, they didn’t mess around.

The Red Sox traded for two starting pitchers (Sonny Gray, Johan Oviedo) and signed another (Ranger Suarez) as a free agent.

They also understood that, to reap the benefits of an improved rotation, they also had to better their infield defense after leading the league in errors last year.

Accordingly, they will head into the 2026 season with three new starters in the infield: first baseman Willson Contreras, third baseman Caleb Durbin and, likely, second baseman Marcelo Mayer, though as Alex Cora pointed out Friday, Mayer will first have to earn his job.

Meanwhile, the one holdover will be shortstop Trevor Story who enjoyed a bounce-back season at the plate in 2025 but graded out below average in most defensive metrics.

Thanks mostly to a brief stretch of sloppy play in September, Story was minus-7 in defensive runs saved for the season. When it came to Outs Above Average, Story was minus-9.

“We’ve talked about it — the backhand, going to his right — is something where he wasn’t great last year," said Alex Cora. “He was a plus to the left, a plus on routine plays. To the right, he wasn’t, so he worked hard this offseason trying to master that with his pre-pitch (set-up). There’s some adjustments there.

“As you know, he’s always looking for someone or something to help him and I think pre-pitch-wise is a lot different than last year.”

“I’m just looking for little ways to find more range anywhere, or just to get better in general,” said Story. “We looked at the numbers and the backhand (involving going to his right), I can be a little better there. It’s really about that pre-step giving me a foot or two feet more of an angle to get (to the ball) and use my arm strength to make the throw.”

Even at 33, Story remains an athletic shortstop who frequently throws while on the run even when it’s not necessary.

“It’s the little things,” he said. “A lot of it about pre-positioning and kind of scouting, but if you can gain a foot somewhere, that can mean a lot.”

As the pitch is being delivered, Story, instead of gaining ground with his prep step, now has an up-down motion to better position him to head to wherever the ball is hit.

“Instead of the two, three feet that I would gain,” offered Story, “I create that back to a more of an angle, both ways.”

Recounting his 2025 season, his first full one as a member of the Red Sox, Story judged his defensive play to be “pretty solid” with the exception of a week in September when he committed almost a third (six) of his (19) errors for the season.

Those misplays also served to sink some of the metrics for the year.

“That bothered me,” said Story, “because I thought overall, I was putting together a good one. That’s kind of part of putting the full season together after missing a couple of years. I’m not saying I was tired, but it was just more about being deep in those games and figuring out how to make the adjustments when the time comes.”

Historically, Story said he’s always enjoyed going to his backhand to get to balls hit to right, having learned from former Colorado Rockies teammate Troy Tulowitzki how to best reach them.

“I love going backhand, especially the short backhand and throwing on the run,” he said. “My athleticism lends to making those plays – throwing on the run, the jump throws in the hole...Those are always fun and I look forward to them. Any chance I can do that, that’s what I’m going for."

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