Red Sox’s Trevor Story Breaks Silence on $55 Million Move After Surprise Surge

The Boston Red Sox made a decisive statement about their playoff hopes with a successful four-game set against the New York Yankees and now they hold an edge in the wild card standings entering Tuesday.

This success might have seemed unlikely when the team parted ways with franchise slugger Rafael Devers well before the trade deadline, but several other players have stepped up in his absence. And none have offered a more pleasant surprise than veteran shortstop Trevor Story.

Since signing a six-year, $140 million deal with the Red Sox, Story’s career in Boston has been marked by injuries and a marked downturn at the plate. That is until this season, which has seen him post his best offensive numbers since joining the team while playing in 128 games so far, easily the most of any of his seasons for the Red Sox.

His resurgence has raised a surprising question, though, as he has an opportunity to opt out of his Red Sox contract at the end of the year and seek a new deal as a free agent that might pay him more than the $55 million he’d earn by sticking with his current contract.

“Through a positive lens, Story looks like his old (young) self and would be entering an open market marked by an underwhelming group of position players,” Tim Healey wrote for The Boston Globe. “Would he be able to top the $55 million he already is guaranteed?”

Up until this year, it seemed like a foregone conclusion that Story would stick with his current contract. But with that certainty evaporating, at least from the outside looking in, Story noted that he won’t assess his financial situation until after the season concludes.

“Those (opt-out) clauses are there for a reason. But those things are dealt with in the offseason,” Story said, per Healey. “I signed here to play here long-term.”

Story fell short of indicating whether that would mean playing long-term under his current contract or leveraging the opt out for some kind of extension. And it seems like the team will have to wait until this winter to find out as well.

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