What the Red Sox lineup could look like when Trevor Story comes back
Trevor Story will not only give the Red Sox solid defense at shortstop, but power on the right side. Outside of Adam Duvall and Justin Turner, the Sox have lacked right-handed power since the start of the season. This begs the question of where Story will best fit when he comes back.
The main question that remains is whether or not manager Alex Cora will keep Jarren Duran as the everyday leadoff hitter. However, it seems as if Cora only slots him at the leadoff spot against right-handed starters. Rob Refsnyder has been Cora’s “go-to” against left-handed starters. With that being said, Story could find him in the leadoff spot against lefties because of his speed. He only hit .186/.279/.271 in the leadoff spot last year. However, do not be shocked if he is slotted in the leadoff spot against lefties.
One scenario against lefties could be the following lineup:
Story SS
Turner 2B
Refsnyder LF
Devers 3B
Yoshida DH
Duvall CF
Verdugo RF
Casas 1B
Wong C
Now the lineup against righties. He could slot in the same spot as last season, the 6th batter. Last season he slashed .259/.313/.487 in 51 games batting 6th. If Cora were to put him 6th against righties, the lineup could look like this:
Duran CF
Yoshida LF
Turner DH
Devers 3B
Casas 1B
Story SS
Verdugo RF
Arroyo 2B
Wong C
The other potential spot would be the 5th spot. Last season, Story slashed .214/.295/.386 batting 5th. That spot this year for the Sox has included a mix of guys. A scenario of Story batting 5th could look like this (vs righty):
Duran CF
Yoshida LF
Turner DH
Devers 3B
Story SS
Casas 1B
Verdugo RF
Arroyo 2B
Wong C
Since Alex Cora likes to play around with the lineup and experiment in different parts of the order, Trevor Story will likely find himself all over the place. It will be interesting to see where Story ends up when he first comes back from the IL, but regardless of where he is put in the Red Sox lineup, he will make an impact.
Follow Jason on Twitter @jason_stellakis
For additional Red Sox, Bruins, Patriots, MLB and NFL content follow Beyond the Monster on Twitter @BeyondtheMnstr.
Join our new Facebook group for all of our latest content, click the link here.