Red Sox Notes: Story, Arias, Casas

A big question for the Red Sox is who their primary shortstop will be in 2027. Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow spoke to members of the media at the general managers’ meetings in Las Vegas this week and wouldn’t commit to Trevor Story having the job next year. Peter Abraham and Alex Speier of The Boston Globe and Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic were among those to report on Breslow’s comments. “We know what Trevor is capable of doing when he’s healthy and performing,” Breslow said. “This year was disruptive for a number of reasons — with injury, some struggles at times. I think we’re always evaluating these things. We still have a ton of confidence in Trevor, but any decisions like that are going to take place between Trevor and me far before I speak to anything publicly.” Story was signed to a six-year, $140MM contract shortly after the last lockout ended in March of 2022. Five years in, that deal hasn’t worked out especially well for the Sox. Story has occasionally had runs of strong production but they have often been interrupted by injuries. In the first five years of the pact, he only played more than 94 games once. That was in 2025, when he got into 157 games with uneven performance. He started dreadfully but finished strong, getting to 25 home runs and 31 steals but his 5% walk rate and 26.9% strikeout rate were poor figures. His .263/.308/.433 line led to a 102 wRC+, a bit above league average, but that was propped up by a .330 batting average on balls in play. Since most of that production came late in the season, there was some optimism about 2026 but hernia surgery limited him to 64 games of poor play, as he hit .235/.271/.351. In theory, Story could bounce back in 2027 with better health but that’s a hard thing to bank on since he has been so injury prone and turns 34 years old this month. Moving on from him would be tricky. He now has full no-trade protection as a 10-and-5 guy, meaning he has at least 10 years of big league service and has spent at least the past five with the same team. Even if that were not the case, he is still owed $30MM, since he’ll make a $25MM salary next year and there’s a $5MM buyout on a 2028 club option. Teams won’t find it palatable to pay that amount of money to a player who has often been absent or playing at a middling level. The no-trade protection will only make it harder to line up a trade. The Sox could just stick with Story until Franklin Arias pushes him off. Many prospect evaluators have Arias as the #2 prospect in the game, behind only Jesús Made of the Brewers. Arias got promoted to Triple-A in July and has already played 42 games at that level. He hit .331/.388/.506 in those. A promotion in 2027 is easy to imagine. But he is quite young, turning 21 this month. Even the most touted prospects can sometimes struggle when first promoted, so there would be risk in simply banking on Arias to take over shortstop this year. “Premature,” Breslow said when asked if Arias had a chance to earn the job out of spring training. “All the conversations that we’ve had with and about Franklin at this point are targeted on how we make the most of this offseason for him, getting bigger and stronger, continuing to push him on both sides of the ball and base running as well.” In theory, the Sox could let Story keep the job until Arias takes it from him. Story could then move to second base or a depth role. Curtis Mead is expected to be the regular second baseman next year but he has only played in one game for Boston so far. He fractured his right wrist when he was hit by a pitch in his first contest after being acquired from the Nationals in exchange for pitcher Connelly Early. In theory, the designated hitter spot has some at-bats available in the scenario where Story and Mead are battling for second base time, though Boston’s ongoing outfield situation complicates that. Roman Anthony, Ceddanne Rafaela, Wilyer Abreu, Jarren Duran and Masataka Yoshida are all still on the roster. Some of these players dealt with injury issues in 2026 but all are expected to be ready by spring training. A trade of someone could ease some pressure but it feels crowded for the time being. The Sox have considered external options at shortstop. During the 2026 season, they were connected to trade candidates such as Zach Neto of the Angels and Otto Lopez of the Marlins. They could return to those pursuits if they don’t want to be relying on a Story bounceback or an Arias breakthrough. However, trading for either of those players would require a massive package of talent. The Sox may hesitate about paying a huge price to address shortstop when Arias is so close. Elsewhere on the Roster, first baseman Triston Casas is healthy enough to have resumed baseball workouts. He also might play winter ball from Tigres del Licey in the Dominican Republic. Casas is a big wild card after two essentially lost seasons. He required knee surgery in May of 2025, which wiped out the remainder of that season. Intercostal and wrist injuries delayed his comeback attempts in 2026 and he never got into official game action. After all those injuries, it’s understandable he and the Sox would look to send him to the D.R. to shake off the rust. Before the injury odyssey, he showed a lot of potential. He made 840 trips to the plate from 2022 to 2024, hitting 42 home runs. His 26.9% strikeout rate was a bit high but he drew walks at an excellent 14.2% clip. All told, he had a .250/.357/.473 slash and 127 wRC+ in that stretch. Getting him back on track would be nice but the Sox aren’t banking on it. They acquired Willson Contreras to cover first base a year ago and still have Contreras on the roster. Casas still has options, so the Sox could have him getting regular work in the minors until he has an extended stretch of health and is hitting well. As mentioned, there are lots of moving parts in the DH mix, which doesn’t leave Casas a great path to earning playing time in 2027. However, Yoshida and Story are slated for free agency after 2027, assuming Story’s 2028 option will be turned down. Contreras also has a 2028 club option in his deal, with that one having a greater chance of being picked up. Injuries and/or transactions throughout 2027 could completely change the roster picture. It’s also possible that Casas himself is put on the trade block if he’s playing well but doesn’t have a path to a role in Boston. Photo courtesy of Pablo Robles, Imagn Images