3 Trades the Red Sox Should Make To Replace Trevor Story

When Trevor Story went down with a grisly-looking shoulder injury, we all feared the worst.

And, after a cruel three-day wait, Craig Breslow confirmed our fears, announcing that Story would undergo surgery on a fractured glenoid in his left shoulder. The procedure comes with a six-month recovery time, meaning Story is all but certain to miss the remainder of the season.

This comes as a major blow to the Red Sox, who were looking forward to getting a full season from Story after abbreviated campaigns in each of his first two seasons in Boston. Story had provided a steadying presence in the middle infield in the early stages of the 2024 season, playing Gold Glove-caliber defense and putting together quality at-bats.

The in-house replacements for Story are mostly underwhelming. Lefty-hitting David Hamilton was recalled from Worcester to fill in the roster spot, but he's been poor in his only big-league action thus far and projects as an objectively bad defender. 27-year-old Romy Gonzalez will also get his chance at shortstop after replacing Bobby Dalbec on the roster, but he's shown nothing more than Hamilton at the big-league level.

As for proven major-leaguers, Pablo Reyes figures to spend the most time at short; however, the utility man has only 269 innings at the position, and Statcast grades him as a below-average defender. He likely wouldn't be much help at the plate, either, as he's managed just a .691 OPS over 202 plate appearances with Boston.

Vaughn Grissom represents the most intriguing option at the position; the 23-year old is only two years removed from a .792 OPS in his rookie season with the Atlanta Braves. However, the 6'3" Grissom is still at least a week away from playing (groin) and has played nearly two-thirds of his Major League innings at second base. His feasibility as a long-term shortstop is very much up in the air.

Ceddanne Rafaela is probably the only man in the organization who fills Story's shoes defensively, but he's already become an everyday starter in center field. He can certainly fill in at shortstop in a pinch, but the Sox would probably prefer he stick to his natural position in center.

All of this is to say that Boston is likely better off looking outside the organization to replace Story for 2024. Replacing his overall production will be next-to-impossible without giving up an immense haul, but what they can do is try to recreate him in the aggregate, a la Billy Beane. Here are the three trade candidates that make the most sense for the Red Sox to fill in for Story.

1. Geraldo Perdomo, SS, Arizona Diamondbacks

With Perdomo at the peak of his value, it would go against the old adage of "buy low, sell high", but the young shortstop checks all the boxes for the Red Sox. At just 24, he's a plus defender, a switch hitter, and versatile enough to play three positions.

Perdomo has logged 2,439 innings defensively across 3+ seasons with the Diamondbacks, with 2,172 of those coming at shortstop. He's recorded 4 Statcast Defensive Runs Saved in those innings; although those numbers come nowhere near Story levels, they indicate Perdomo is a steady, reliable defender who makes the necessary flashy play.

The outlook isn't quite as rosy on the offensive side of things, as the fourth-year man struggled mightily in 2022 before a respectable .712 OPS campaign in 2023. There are some signs that he could improve, though: he slashed his K/BB rate from above 2 in 2022 to 1.34 in 2023, and hit twice as many doubles. Although he doesn't provide much in the way of power (11 career home runs), he does enough as a slap hitter to maintain some value at the plate.

There is a significant holdup, though, and that's price. Perdomo is dealing with a minor injury, but, when healthy, he's Arizona's starting shortstop. To boot, he made his first All-Star game just last season, and played a key role in the D-backs' run to the World Series. Extracting Perdomo from Arizona would take a king's ransom; is that something Breslow is ready for? Is it worth overpaying for a guy who may be nothing more than a one-year stopgap? Would there be room for Perdomo next year with Grissom and Story back (hopefully) and legions of middle infield prospects bursting through the minor leagues?

If the Red Sox believe in his bat, I'd say go for it. If they don't think there's a lot of room for improvement, it's probably better to look elsewhere.

Potential Deal:

• BOS receives SS Geraldo Perdomo
• ARI receives 2B Enmanuel Valdez, 2B Nick Yorke (BOS #6), RHP Bryan Mata (BOS #27), Cash Considerations