3 shortstops Red Sox must bring in with Trevor Story out for season

The Boston Red Sox have been one of the more surprising teams in the league thus far, entering play on Tuesday with a 7-3 record despite beginning their season on a ten-game West Coast trip. Their pitching has been shockingly great, and Tyler O'Neill has looked like an MVP candidate thus far.

While things are going well right now, the Red Sox were dealt with brutal news with shortstop Trevor Story suffering a season-ending shoulder injury. The Red Sox hoped the injury was minor, but once Story had to seek a second opinion, it was fair to assume the worst. Losing Story for the season is obviously the worst-case scenario.

Story signed a six-year deal worth $140 million to come to Boston ahead of the 2022 season and since inking the deal, it's been a disaster. Not only has the 31-year-old been limited to just 145 games played in his Boston career due to injuries, but he's slashed .227/.288/.394 with 19 home runs and 84 RBI. He has an 86 OPS+, 14 points below the league average, in the games he has played in. It's been a disaster.

With Story out, the Red Sox lack a clear option at shortstop. Guys like David Hamilton, Pablo Reyes, and potentially Ceddanne Rafaela could fill in, but they'd benefit from scouring the trade market and acquiring one of these three external shortstops.

3) The Red Sox should trade for White Sox shortstop Paul DeJong

The Chicago White Sox are a mess. The team wasn't expected to be any good this season, but they're 1-9 through their first ten games entering play on Tuesday and their -30 run differential is the worst in the American League.

With Chicago being clear sellers, trading away players who are on one-year contracts is a no-brainer. Enter Paul DeJong.

DeJong signed a one-year deal with the White Sox this past offseason, but has only started five of Chicago's ten games, as he's split time with rookie shortstop Braden Shewmake. With Shewmake potentially being part of Chicago's future plans, trading DeJong for any team that might be slightly interested makes all the sense in the world.

He's far from appealing since outside of his outstanding rookie year he's been a .688 OPS hitter, but he's an excellent defender and adds a veteran to their infield. It'd cost virtually nothing to get him aboard, and with how bad the White Sox are, they might be able to do it now.

2) The Red Sox should trade for Angels infielder Luis Rengifo

The Los Angeles Angels might be 6-4, but Luis Rengifo has little to do with that. The 27-year-old has gotten off to a good start but has only started four of their ten games this season. He's good depth for the Halos to have, but with Brandon Drury and Zach Neto locked in as their middle infielders for this season, trading Rengifo makes some sense.

The 27-year-old has been a streaky hitter throughout his career, but has put up strong offensive numbers in each of the last two seasons. In 2023 he had a 111 OPS+ and hit 16 home runs in just 394 at-bats despite playing on a bad Angels team.

While he's not great defensively at shortstop like DeJong, Rengifo has played 95 games at the position and shouldn't lose them games at that position. Additionally, he's a switch-hitter who can play all over the diamond in the infield and outfield.

The Angels would likely want to keep Rengifo around given the injury history of Anthony Rendon and the fact that he comes with an additional year of control, but if the Red Sox are able to pry him away at a somewhat reasonable cost since he's not a starter there right now, they should do so.

1) The Red Sox should trade for Marlins shortstop Tim Anderson

The Miami Marlins were the team to take a chance on Tim Anderson, signing him to a one-year deal in late February. The deal made sense for both sides as Miami needed a shortstop and Anderson was looking for a place where he could play every day, but the Marlins entered play on Tuesday with the worst record in baseball, going 1-10 in their first 11 games.

With the Marlins likely going nowhere this season, trading expiring contracts like Tim Anderson makes sense if there are interested teams out there. He'd be a decent stop gap option for a team like the Red Sox.

Anderson was at one point in time one of the best shortstops in the league and is a former batting champion, but he had a dreadful year for the White Sox in 2023 and hasn't been great to begin this season either. The 30-year-old is slashing .262/.295/.286 with no home runs and one RBI in his 11 games with the Marlins.

He's always found a way to hit singles, but Anderson's power has disappeared in recent years. In fact, he has just seven home runs in his last 919 plate appearances dating back to 2022. He hit just one home run in 123 games last season for the White Sox.

The Red Sox would be banking on some sort of a bounceback from Anderson. If they get it, they're golden. If they don't he's a free agent after the year and he wouldn't cost much to acquire.