For most of his tenure in Boston, Red Sox fans would have been more than happy to be rid of Trevor Story. In the first three years of his free agent deal, Story put up just 4.1 total bWAR, as he struggled to stay on the field and then battled strike outs when he was healthy. But with a 3.3 bWAR season this year, Story looks something like his old Rockies self, which could lead to an interesting offseason and something that seemed unthinkable at the start of the year: might Trevor Story opt-out of his contract
at the end of the year? Story has two more guaranteed years at $25 million per year on his deal, taking him through 2027. But he also has the option to elect free agency this offseason, with a twist: if he opts out, the Red Sox can then force him back in by agreeing to tack on a third year (2028) at an additional $25 million. (Tim Healey, Boston Globe)
Trevor Story is hardly the only surprising performer on the 2025 Red Sox. And now, Nathaniel Lowe has cemented a spot on that list as well. (Peter Abraham, Boston Globe)
Complicating the Red Sox decision as to what to do with Story is the fact that the club still doesn’t know what it has in Marcelo Mayer, who displayed both promise and typical rookie struggles this year, before (again) going down with a season-ending injury. But the Red Sox do know what they have in Roman Anthony, who became the youngest Red Sox player to hit a leadoff homer last night. (Christopher Smith, MassLive)
Speaking of injured rookies, starter-turned-reliever Richard Fitts left last night’s game with some right bicep tightness. He doesn’t sound too concerned about it, though, and is not yet an MRI candidate. (Christopher Smith, MassLive)
Anthony wasn’t the only young phenom playing in last night’s game. Jackson Holiday is no longer a rookie, but, like Anthony this year, he was the number one prospect in baseball last year. The two of them have actually been friends for a while, having grown up and played elite travel ball in Central Florida. (Jen McCaffrey, The Athletic)
Garrett Whitlock isn’t a Florida Man like Anthony and Holiday, but he is a Southerner. And last night he was a major difference-maker coming out of the bullpen. (Rob Bradford, WEEI)
