The days leading up to the trade deadline can be stressful for players, who have to balance doing their job on the field with the looming reality that their entire lives could be upended at any moment.
Trevor Story knows that feeling better than anyone.
Four years ago as a pending free agent with the Colorado Rockies, Story was believed to be among that summer’s top trade candidates. The All-Star shortstop ultimately wasn’t moved and signed with the Red Sox the following offseason, but Story went through the full gamut of emotions coming to terms with the possibility that he could be sent away from the only team he’d ever known to that point.
“It was wild. I thought if you looked at it, it made sense that I would get traded and I thought that’s what was going to happen,” Story said. “Obviously it didn’t and I think that was a crazy time in our lives, we were expecting our first baby and the prospect of moving around, the volatility of the game, you don’t know.
“All the players are going through stuff off the field too, so that’s the thing people don’t see,” he continued. “It was wild, it was crazy, but it’s exciting because it’s down to the wire a lot of times.”
Every player and club’s situation is different, and though for some the deadline brings uncertainty and potentially disappointment, for others it offers opportunity. While the Red Sox have a handful of players who have been subject to trade speculation — notably Jarren Duran — this year’s club is better positioned than the past few years and is expected to buy.
That is a different dynamic, Story said, but also one that presents its own complicated dynamics.
“It’s a mix of emotions for sure. There’s a lot of excitement, but also you know you could be losing some teammates,” Story said. “It changes from year to year, obviously we feel like we’re in a great spot this year, we’re holding a spot, we feel like we’re going to add and do the best we can there, and I think that’s exciting. I’ve been on the other side of that where you feel like you’re not going to be doing anything and you might be traded, it’s a mix of emotions for sure.”
Story said the team’s goal is to put the front office in a spot where they have to add, and while Red Sox manager Alex Cora said it doesn’t really work that way, his message to players leading up to the deadline is always to try and stay in the moment and don’t read too much.
He also noted that not all trade rumors are based in reality.
“I can tell them stories about ESPN in the green room how people made (stuff) up, trades, I can tell them that, don’t believe everything that’s said,” Cora said, acknowledging that can be tough with how ingrained social media has become in today’s society. “There are a lot of people that are very responsible with their trade rumors and their contacts, and others, they’re not. So just block it, go out there and play.”
Entering Sunday the Red Sox had managed to stay afloat amid the toughest part of their schedule so far, starting the second half 3-5 against the Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies and Los Angeles Dodgers, each of the National League’s three division leaders. The club also came into the day occupying the American League’s third Wild Card spot, and after spending the majority of his career on teams that ranged from fringe contenders to outright sellers, Story said it’s been a nice change of pace to be on a team where the front office has clearly signaled it’s looking to buy.
“I really think they’re looking for the right way to do it, and that’s exciting, that’s fun, especially in this town, man, it’s about winning and we have an opportunity to do that and reinforce our team a little bit,” Story said. “It’s exciting, especially now, because we feel like we’ve been building on this for a couple of years and now here we are and I feel like this organization we’re in a great spot to do it.”
Extra innings
Cora had no update pregame on infielder Marcelo Mayer (right wrist sprain), who has undergone imaging to determine the severity of the injury. … Friday night left-hander Chris Murphy offered a subtle tribute to the late Ozzy Osbourne, taking the mound to Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs.”
