How a rejuvenated Trevor Story is helping Red Sox turn season around, plus more MLB notes

Story, 15 for 15 on steals this year, has been excellent for the last five weeks

BOSTON -- Trevor Story is a surgeon when it comes to swiping a bag. He's strategic. Measured. Flaunting the athlete this season that had been locked away in a vault because of injuries. He's disgusted at even the thought of getting thrown out on the bases. "Hates it," according to first base coach Jose Flores. So when he goes, more often than not, Story knows he's got a good chance of making it.

It shows in the stats, too. Story has 144 career stolen bases. He's been caught just 36 times. That's an 80% clip -- above league average. This year, he's a perfect 15 for 15.

You might be thinking: that's not a ton of bags. But it's not about volume. It's about efficiency and impact. Of those 15 steals, he's come around to score in eight of them.

"I think a lot of it for me is instinctual," Story said. "Like you can almost feel it happening before it takes place. And, like, stealing bases is a mindset. So you have to be, it's an aggressive mindset, you know, you can't be timid, you can't be scared."

Story, unquestionably, isn't scared. While most players take three-and-a-half steps on their leads, Story gets out there even farther. Certain that his lean 6-foot-1, 210-pound frame can make it back if the pitcher dares to attempt a pick-off move.

"I mean, it kind of starts with the lead," Story said. "And, I mean, a lot of it depends on the guy's pickoff move and if I have to respect it or not. I think it's kind of a lost art. It's a place where maybe you can get a half step and create that time at second where you beat it just by hair. I think that's kind of a big part of my game." 

Story leans on the coaching staff during pregame meetings, too. 

"We do a lot of studying," Flores said. "Watching videos and studying tendencies on the pitchers. Anything that we can pick up that we can provide the right info for the guys to take advantage of, we do that. And Trevor is one to be one of those guys that picks up things really fast, and he's been able to take advantage of it." 

Similar to Story, the Red Sox as a team have an 80% success rate when swiping bags this season. They rank sixth in the majors with 81 steals. But, again, it's not about volume -- it's about efficiency.

Story is on the rise at the plate, too, and has been for about a month and a half. On May 27, he was hitting .217/.264/.319 with a .582 OPS. "It looked like it wasn't going to happen," said manager Alex Cora.

But since then, Story is batting .295/.327/.541 with an .868 OPS and nine homers -- looking every bit like the player he was with the Rockies.  Story's OPS is .935 in his last 30 games. The Red Sox are 20-10 in that stretch, going from five games under .500 to five games over (50-45) and in possession of the AL's third wild-card spot.

Oh, and about that efficiency? It was on full display in Thursday night's 4-3 thriller over the Rays, a win that marked the Red Sox's seventh straight. The Red Sox had nothing going against Tampa. Down 3-1 in the eighth, Story drew a leadoff walk against Bryan Baker, the newly acquired reliever from the Orioles. In short, it helped lead to a four-run inning.

"He sees the videos we provide," Flores said. "The info for him in order to be in a good position to succeed and he's been able to take advantage of that so he's success rate is pretty much perfect." 

Other MLB notes

• Could the Orioles really sell at the deadline? That could feel like malpractice. With a roster this talented, Baltimore's front office -- led by GM Mike Elias -- didn't go out and get pitching last offseason, and it's backfired. After two straight postseason appearances, including an AL East title in 2023, they owe it to their fan base to go for it. The O's (42-50) enter the weekend 6 1/2 games out of a playoff spot.
• Sandy Alcantara isn't doing the Marlins any favors on the trade front. He was rocked for six runs on nine hits in his last outing against the Reds. His ERA ballooned to 7.22 across 18 starts -- the worst mark in the majors. He's now allowed 73 earned runs, most in baseball.
• The Yankees designated DJ LeMahieu for assignment, bringing a messy end to his tenure in the Bronx. Chisholm's shift back to second base pushed LeMahieu into a bench role, and word is he didn't take it well.
• In case you're not paying attention to the Rockies... MLB's worst team is still on pace to break the White Sox's recently set record for most losses in a single season in the modern era. The Rockies, at 21-72, are on pace to lose 125 games. They need to go 21-58 the rest of the way (.304 winning percentage) to avoid being worse than the 2024 White Sox.