FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) – The Red Sox have reportedly agreed terms with Rockies All-Star shortstop Trevor Story on a six-year $ 140 million contract that will bring him to Boston to play second base.
The deal, first reported by USA Today and confirmed by multiple outlets, gives the Red Sox a long-term response to the second that has been in flux since former AL MVP Dustin Pedroia was first injured in 2017 was, and leaves Xander Bogaerts in place at the shortstop. The team also has a backup plan on the left side of Infield when Bogaerts decides his contract at the end of this season.
History, 29, hit .251 with 24 homers and 75 RBIs for the Rockies last season, an off-year that followed three straight years later in which he received NL MVP votes. In five Major League seasons he has never played a defensive position other than shortstop.
“He’s a great bat. We already know what he’s doing defensively. I think that bat plays really well at Fenway just with that short porch outside,” Bogaerts told MLB.com last week as the deal for first became rumored.
“It would be nice if we could get such a supplement after some of the big names we’ve lost or traded away in the Free Agency,” Bogaerts said. “That’s a big boy. That’s a big bat there. That’s an impact player.”
The story is a lifetime .272 hitter with 158 homers and 450 RBIs and 745 career players. He took advantage of the thin air in Denver, hitting .303 with 95 homers and 279 RBIs on Coors Field and .241 with 63 homers and 171 RBIs on the road.
With Story in second place, Kiké Hernández was able to put himself in the center and Christian Arroyo becomes a utility bat off the bench.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora declined to comment on reports after Sunday’s spring training session against Baltimore, saying there were rumors. Even before the deal was announced, the news was welcomed at the Red Sox Clubhouse.
“It breaks the team,” pitcher Nate Eovaldi told MLB.com. “We know they (the front office) want to win, but then add another big piece to the organization as that would be huge.”
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