The Boston Red Sox entered 2024 with an exciting infield, consisting of Rafael Devers, Trevor Story, Vaughn Grissom, and Triston Casas. But these injury-prone hitters never shared the field for the Red Sox in a regular season game.
Lengthy stints on the injured list kept Story, Grissom, and Casas out for much of the year. And Devers missed the final eight games of the season with left shoulder inflammation. Similar issues have thus far kept him out of spring training games, but he’s set to make his debut this Wednesday.
As the team’s preseason tune-up in Fort Myers heads into its final weeks, his three teammates likewise appear healthy. But can they sustain that wellness and help end Boston’s three-year playoff drought?
Three Injury-Prone Red Sox Hitters Staying Healthy This Spring
Story Looks Like an All-Star (Again)
Since signing a six-year, $140 million contract with the Red Sox before the 2022 season, Story has missed 298 games. He’s also landed on the injured list four times. His most recent disruption occurred eight games into the 2024 season when he dislocated his left shoulder. Hitting only .226/.294/.323 at the time, Story was two games removed from a three-hit, two RBI game. And, at last, he resembled his All-Star form.
Story recovered from the surgery faster than expected and returned in early September. He hit .270/.361/.429 over the final month of the season with two home runs and six RBI. Carrying that momentum into spring training, he sports a team-best 10 hits. Plus, his .476 average leads Red Sox players with more than 10 at-bats. Additionally, he popped a pair of home runs on Friday and only has one error in seven games.
If the injury-prone Story can finally put together a healthy season for the Red Sox, he could provide a steady presence at shortstop. The team has lacked consistency at that position since Xander Bogaerts signed with the San Diego Padres in 2022.
Casas Shaking Off New Issues
Casas was one of the Red Sox’s most rumored trade targets this past offseason. In 2024, the first baseman missed nearly four months with a left rib cage strain. Prior to the injury, he was hitting .244/.344/.513 with six home runs and 10 RBI. And he again resembled the player who hit 24 home runs in 2023 and finished third in American League Rookie of the Year voting. However, upon activation from the injured list in mid-August, he struggled with consistency. Casas finished with a .241/.337/.462 line and only seven more home runs.
Otherwise not known for being injury-prone, Casas has been out since March 2 with a stomach bug. But he also needs some medicine at the plate for his paltry .091/.333/.182 slash line in 11 at-bats. However, slow starts are nothing new for the slugger. He hit .224/.345/.367 last preseason, but notched a .333/.381/.632 spring prior to his rookie campaign. Now over his illness, Casas returned to camp on Sunday and will ease back into action this week. Nevertheless, he’ll need to get back on track in a hurry if he expects to meet his lofty batting goals. Casas is aiming for at least 40 home runs and 120 RBI this season.
Grissom: A Human Question Mark
In what’s become one of the most lopsided trades in Red Sox history, Grissom was acquired from the Atlanta Braves before the 2024 season in exchange for oft-injured starting pitcher Chris Sale. The lefty then promptly resurrected his career, winning the NL Cy Young Award and pitching’s Triple Crown. If Boston kept Sale, he probably would have slipped on a banana peel in April and broken his arm, but so it goes.
Grissom offered plenty of upside as Boston’s potential second baseman of the future. But he also carried numerous risks. Back in 2022, he hit .347/.398/.558 over the first 26 games of his major league career while filling in for the injured Ozzie Albies at second base. The following season, with Albies back on the field, Grissom looked to take over shortstop for free agent departure Dansby Swanson. Instead, he lost the starting position to Orlando Arcia in spring training and spent most of the season at Triple-A, hitting .330/.419/.501 and primarily playing shortstop. Heading into 2024, he boasted a .280/.313/.347 line but struggled defensively at shortstop, committing six errors in 19 games in 2023.
Second Baseman’s Struggles Continue
The then 23-year-old Grissom seemed like Boston’s likely Opening Day second baseman, but he lost roughly 14 pounds during an illness in spring training. He then sustained a hamstring injury that sidelined him for the first month of the season. Back on the field, he started nearly every game in May, posting a meager .148/.207/.160 line, and headed back to the IL with a second hamstring injury. Once healthy, he raked at Triple-A Worcester (.420 batting average with 22 RBI) and hit well after getting called up for the last week and a half of the season. His .333/.370/.417 line suggested he’d finally hit his groove.
However, Grissom’s success has yet to carry over into this year’s spring training. Though he’s getting significant at-bats (his 22 is tied for sixth on the roster), it’s only resulted in him hitting .227/.292/.318. As Daniel Fox notes, the injury-prone player isn’t doing sufficient damage with “hittable pitches.” And Grissom lags behind fellow second baseman Nick Sogard, who’s slashing .360/.448/.680 and is tied or better with Grissom in every other category. On the plus side, Grissom posts a 1.000 fielding percentage. And, as Section 10’s Tyler Milliken noted, he has a hit in four of his last five games along with two walks.
But unless Devers shifts to designated hitter and reigning AL Gold Glove third baseman Alex Bregman sticks with his natural position, Bregman is set to start the season at second base, leaving Grissom and Sogard on the bench.
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