There’s no way to know for sure whether it would’ve impacted their efforts to retain Xander Bogaerts, but you’ve gotta believe the Boston Red Sox are bummed that Bogaerts is a Padre today.
That’s because the Red Sox are going to be without middle infielder Trevor Story for a hot minute:
Four to six months from today would have Story out, realistically, until at least June or July, with a question on how long the ramp up would be from there. (Even that might be optimistic, at least in terms of playing in the field.)
The bigger question, perhaps, is what position Trevor Story plays upon his return. There were already questions about the health of his throwing arm, you may recall, and this procedure is presumably designed to address that. Does it mean he returns to shortstop as soon as he gets back? Or does he stick at second base, even after Bogaerts’ departure, and the Red Sox wait on the arrival of top prospect Marcelo Mayer to take over at shortstop?
In the meantime, do the Red Sox let Christian Arroyo and Enrique Hernández handle the middle infield, or do they try to add someone externally? Here’s wondering if they would take a swing on Nick Madrigal for second base? Just thinking out loud, since Madrigal remains in a tricky spot with the Cubs when it comes to playing time.