BOSTON -- Trevor Story's improbable journey to return to action in 2024 is almost a reality.
Story, who separated his left shoulder in the eighth game of the season and required major surgery, is in line to return to action Saturday night with the Red Sox.
Story has spent the last week on a rehab assignment with Triple A Worcester. He was set to travel to Boston Friday night and be re-evaluated Saturday, with the expectation that he'll be in the starting lineup for the second game of the weekend series with the Chicago White Sox.
"If he makes it here tomorrow here without falling down or doing something, there's a good chance he's going to play shortstop for us (Saturday)," said Alex Cora. "It's very important (to complete the comeback), not only for us, for him, too. Just to go out there and play. In the personal side, just to be out there, is huge. He put in the work. He hasn't hesitated. He had a goal and it's going to happen.
"Hopefully it happens that he carries the offense, but he's just going to be part of the offense. We'll see where we hit him (in the lineup). But he feels good about it. Talking to the people at Triple A, he drove the ball to the gaps (Thursday), so we'll see. We'll see."
Cora said the Sox anticipate that Story will play short "mostly every day. He's our shortstop."
In turn, the Red Sox plan is to shift Ceddanne Rafaela to second as Story reclaims the shortstop position. The Red Sox have tried almost a dozen players at second this season and since David Hamilton broke his finger last month, they've been rotating several players at the position. Rafaela won't necessarily be at second everyday, but it's clear that he will become the de facto regular at the position.
"He's a good athlete," said Cora. "He's been working out at second. I talked to him a week ago, 10 days ago, about the chance of him playing second base. He'll go to second, make plays and get used to it. We're not worried about it. It's just something else on his resumé. We expect him to be a good defensive second baseman."