5:37pm: Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic tweets that the Red Sox are indeed “firmly” involved in the running for Story.
1:05pm: Free-agent shortstop Trevor Story is mulling opportunities with four teams and expects to make a decision relatively soon, tweets MLB Network’s Jon Heyman. Both the Giants and Red Sox are in the mix for Story, per Heyman, who notes that the longtime Rockies shortstop is now open to a “short-term” position change, if necessary. That’s a departure from earlier in the winter, when his strong preference was to remain at shortstop. Heyman adds that Story is prioritizing signing with a win-now team.
It’s not clear which other clubs remain in the market, though the Twins and Mariners are among the clubs that have expressed interest throughout the offseason. Minnesota’s interest came to light earlier in the week, after the Twins succeeded in unloading the remainder of Josh Donaldson’s contract in a trade with the Yankees (another rumored Story suitor earlier this winter). The Twins could offer a clear everyday role at shortstop, but if Story is prioritizing a winning club, it’s a bit of a tougher sell for a 73-win Twins club — even if they’ve acquired Sonny Gray and made some other moves signaling a desire to contend in 2022.
The Mariners, meanwhile, hoped to sign Story to play second base earlier in the winter. With Story then apparently set on sticking at shortstop, the M’s acquired Eugenio Suarez alongside Jesse Winker in a deal with the Reds. Suarez and fellow offseason trade acquisition Adam Frazier appear set to man third base and second base, respectively, though ever-active Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto could always look for some further dealings to create more opportunity if he indeed covets Story.
It should be noted that while the words “short-term” don’t necessarily mean that Story is open to a short-term deal just yet. For instance, the general expectation is that Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts will opt out of the final three years of his contract following the 2022 season. Story could technically sign a long-term deal in Boston, play second base for one season, and then slide over as the everyday shortstop if an when Bogaerts departs. That’s an entirely speculative scenario, to be clear, but one that is fairly easy to envision.
As for the Giants, they’ve generally shown an aversion to long-term, nine-figure contracts. Any deal with Story, then, would either require him to take a short-term pact of require an exception to the Farhan Zaidi-led front office’s philosophy on long-term commitments. Were Story willing to change positions, he could slide in at second base in San Francisco and push Tommy La Stella into a versatile utility role. Depending on Evan Longoria’s health, Story could also conceivably spend some time at the hot corner, teaming with Brandon Crawford to form a dynamic left-side defense.