Boston Red Sox shortstop Trevor Story is getting close to returning to the lineup after what was thought to be a season-ending shoulder surgery.
Story hurt his shoulder trying to stop a hit by Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels on April 5. About a week later, Dr. Neal ElAttrache from the Los Angeles Dodgers performed the surgery on his left shoulder.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora said on Friday that Story will take live batting practice on Monday at Fenway Park.
“Trevor is swinging live, regular BP on Monday,” Cora said before Boston began a three-game series with the Houston Astros.
Story has been doing infield work for some time, and Cora mentioned that when the team was in Colorado two weeks ago, it seemed likely that the 31-year-old might play again this season.
The expected recovery time for the injury is six months.
“It’s a huge step, huge,” Cora said. “At this point, I really believe he will be part of the team. I don’t want to give a timeline because I don’t want to put pressure on him. But he’s pushing us, which is great.”
When asked about Story’s defensive readiness, Cora said, “He could play nine innings tomorrow, defensively.”
The main remaining step is improving his performance at the plate.
“He talked about getting stronger, working on his repetitions and volume, and adjusting to different types of pitches,” Cora said. “But this is a big step. When I heard this today, I was like: ‘Whoa, OK.’”
Cora mentioned that Story has been hitting off a tee and taking soft toss for some time.
Story is in the third year of a $140 million, six-year contract. He was hitting .226 with four RBIs in eight games before the injury. He has a .265 career batting average with 177 homers and 534 RBIs over nine major league seasons.
