BOSTON — Red Sox shortstop Trevor Story is projected to appear in 151 games this season. However, the question remains whether his performance at the plate will warrant his daily presence for the remainder of the season. Thus far, Story’s season has been disappointing. Meanwhile, 22-year-old shortstop Marcelo Mayer, ranked as Baseball America’s No. 8 prospect, is making strides at Triple-A Worcester, boasting an OPS of .819 after a sluggish start.

Going into Saturday, Story had the 22nd lowest OPS (.627) in the majors, batting .234 with a .276 on-base percentage and a .351 slugging percentage over 44 games (181 plate appearances). He has recorded only eight extra-base hits (six homers and two doubles). “Physically, he’s in good shape,” manager Alex Cora commented before Boston’s game against the Braves on Saturday. “He put in a lot of effort during the offseason to reach this point. He aimed to play over 150 games, and it seems he’s on track for that. But I also have to be cautious, considering both his performance and physical condition.”

Saturday marked Story’s 45th game, the most he has played in one season since 2022. He missed most of 2023 due to elbow surgery, and was limited to 26 games last season after fracturing the glenoid in his left shoulder during the season’s opening road trip. “All the metrics and data we have show that his bat speed and hand placement are where they should be. Everything seems alright,” Cora explained. “The only issue is that he’s not hitting the ball forward.” Story ranks in the bottom 10th percentile among MLB hitters in chase percentage (36.7%), strikeout rate (30.9%), walk rate (3.9%), and squared-up percentage (17.9%).

Cora mentioned the Red Sox were encouraged by Story’s at-bats on Friday when he went 1-for-4 with an RBI single in the ninth inning. Story also had a walk and a single in Saturday’s game. “He’s just missing his pitches,” Cora noted. “That’s the crux of it. I know he’s swinging a lot, but he’s getting pitches in the zone and fouling them off. After that, the pitchers gain the upper hand.” Cora also pointed out that Story hasn’t capitalized even when he’s ahead in the count. “In counts like 2-0, 3-1, he misses his pitches and then the pitchers take him down,” Cora said. “Initially, he was connecting and hitting the ball hard, but that hasn’t happened lately.”

Story’s 47.8% hard-hit rate places him in the 73rd percentile among MLB hitters. He’s also been an above-average runner on the bases. However, all his other advanced offensive stats on Baseball Savant range from poor to average (primarily poor). Cora emphasized the importance of Story making in-game adjustments. “When he’s performing well, he’s hitting fastballs effectively. We know that,” Cora said. “During his first year with the Red Sox in 2022, he drove the ball to right-center. I always stress the importance of hitting the ball hard the other way. Then, he could pull anything soft in the zone.”

This season, Story has struggled significantly with fastballs, going 18-for-87 (.207) with a .218 slugging percentage and just one extra-base hit (a double). His best offensive years were from 2018-21, during which he excelled against fastballs each season: 2018: .306 average, .572 slugging; 2019: .298 average, .570 slugging; 2020: .304 average, .507 slugging; 2021: .273 average, .498 slugging. “Right now, he’s fouling off fastballs,” Cora stated. “Yesterday was promising. He stayed on a good pitch from Chris (Sale), fouled it off but stayed with it, and then he got a base hit up the middle, which was encouraging.”

Cora noted that while the Red Sox are comfortable with Story’s bat speed, he ranks in the 28th percentile in that category (70.6). Cora was asked about the length of time the Red Sox could continue with Story if he remains unproductive. “Currently, he’s not the only one struggling,” Cora said. “KC (Kristian Campbell) has had a tough 50 at-bats, and we’re not discussing that. It’s a lot. Right now, we have some offensive gaps, and it’s not because they’re poor players or hitters. They’re just experiencing a rough patch. We need to get them going, focus on the small details, hit the ball the other way, draw walks. If we do that collectively, we’ll improve.”