3 Internal Options For Red Sox To Replace Trevor Story

Devastation struck the Boston Red Sox early in 2024. Their biggest free agent acquisition, Lucas Giolito, never made it to the regular season before needing season-ending surgery. Vaughn Grissom, who came to the Sox via the trade that sent Chris Sale to Atlanta, went down early in spring and still has not made his Boston debut. And right-hander Nick Pivetta now has a strain in his elbow and has been placed on the IL.

But the most significant blow of the year came this past weekend when shortstop Trevor Story hurt his shoulder attempting a play against the Angels. He was evaluated on Monday, and it was determined he would need surgery to repair a fracture in his glenoid rim, effectively ending his season.

Story was looking forward to a bounce back in 2024 after an injury-ridden start to his Red Sox career. Since coming to Boston, he has not played 100 games in a season. He looked as healthy as ever this spring, so seeing him go down so early in such a promising year is tough.

However, as Story and the Red Sox know, the game continues. They will have to find someone else to fill in for 2024. Luckily, the Red Sox have multiple options in-house that may not fill Story's shoes completely but will hold their own as the Red Sox look to contend.

1. David Hamilton

Middle infielder David Hamilton has been the first rostered option to take a chance to start at shortstop since Trevor Story's injury. Hamilton was called up on Saturday in response to the injury and played right away. MLB ranks him the 20th top prospect in the Red Sox system

Hamilton played in 15 games last season for the Red Sox. It was a small sample, and he batted just .121 in those games. But on Sunday, he immediately made an impact in his 2024 debut. He played the whole game in Los Angeles. He went 2-4 at the plate, including hitting his first home run of his career. Hamilton was also perfect on the field in his four defensive attempts.

Unfortunately, Tuesday was a bit of a different story for him (no pun intended). Hamilton went 0-2 at the dish and made a fielding error in the eighth inning that led to a run being scored. It was a disappointing day for him individually as part of a disappointing day for the Red Sox overall.

Although his experience is minimal, Hamilton was the move that made the most sense in a pinch for the Red Sox to fill the void. His leash will probably be short as the Sox determine all of their options to move forward. Hamilton should take advantage of this opportunity while he has it because there are other viable options that might make more sense in the long term.