Alex Cora ‘truly believes’ Trevor Story will play again this season

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Red Sox

“Where we’re at right now, I’m truly believing he’s going to be part of this.”

Three weeks ago, Trevor Story said he was hopeful to play again in 2024. Now, it sounds like it’s a matter of ‘when,’ not ‘if’ he suits up. AP Photo/David Zalubowski

Trevor Story said three weeks ago he was hopeful to play for the Red Sox again in 2024 after his season seemingly ended when he dislocated his left shoulder on April 5. On Friday, manager Alex Cora said he’s fully confident the shortstop will suit up for Boston down the stretch.

Cora said Story will take batting practice at Fenway Park on Monday, a sign that the 31-year-old is making strides in his recovery.

“It’s a huge step. It’s huge,” Cora said, according to MassLive’s Chris Cotillo. “Where we’re at right now, I’m truly believing he’s going to be part of this. I just don’t want to give you a timeline and all that because I don’t want to put pressure on him. But he’s putting pressure on us, which is the great thing about this.”

Story underwent surgery shortly after suffering his injury while diving for a ground ball in Anaheim in Boston’s second series of the season. At the time, his ailment was deemed season-ending.

In Story’s absence, the Red Sox have found sustained success with several different players to fill his role at shortstop from Romy Gonzalez, David Hamilton, Ceddanne Rafaela, and Nick Sogard. Nonetheless, both Boston and Story seem eager for the player to reclaim his spot in the lineup and on the diamond.

“He can play nine tomorrow, defensively,” Cora said. “He talked about getting a little bit stronger, the repetitions, the volume, and all that stuff. Hitting different shapes of fastballs and breaking balls. I think that’s a big step.”

When the Red Sox were in Los Angeles playing the Dodgers the weekend of July 18, Story entered the clubhouse and declared that his goal was to play again this year. He wasn’t positive he was going to reach that goal at the time.

Fast forward less than one month later, Story echoed Cora’s positive sentiments about his recovery while speaking with reporters.

“Feeling good about the shoulder,” Story said on the field before Boston’s game against the Houston Astros on Friday. “Things have been going well. We’ve been kind of working behind the scenes and keeping the expectations low, and I think it’s helped us out to where my body’s been able to recover and bounce back with the swings in the cage. Like I said all along, if there’s a chance to play, I’m going for it.

“I didn’t expect (my recovery) to be going this well, to be honest,” Story added. “Just because I know how bad it was early on in the rehab process. But I really think my body’s turned a corner. Mentally, too — my mind trusts my body more than ever. Obviously I’m not 100 percent there, but I’ve made a lot of strides toward that. It’s more like a normal shoulder progression now and I’m feeling pretty good about that.”

Given Cora and Story’s comments, it doesn’t sound unrealistic that Boston will get one of its veterans back as the team fights for a playoff spot. The Red Sox are a young team; having Story back on the field and stabilizing the infield as they push to make the postseason for the first time since 2021 can’t hurt.

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