There is almost no certainty about the Boston Red Sox’s starting infield next season.

Alex Bregman has made his opt-out all but official, Triston Casas is coming off major knee surgery, and Marcelo Mayer, while talented, has injury concerns of his own. That leaves shortstop Trevor Story in an important position as he weighs his own opt-out decision.

But if Story opts back in, which seemed like a lock until he led the team in home runs out of the blue this year, then the Red Sox may have a tricky decision to make of their own.

Boston Red Sox shortstop Trevor Story (10) fields a ground ball against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the fifth inning at Chase Field on Sept. 7, 2025. / Michael Chow/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

On Sunday, Sean McAdam of MassLive wondered if the Red Sox would mull moving Story off shortstop. He played second base in deference to veteran All-Star Xander Bogaerts in 2022, but it’s an entirely different power dynamic if the Red Sox plan to replace him with 22-year-old Marcelo Mayer this time.

“Assuming Trevor Story decides to opt-in, I wonder if the Red Sox are tossing around the idea of moving him to second and having Marcelo Mayer as their shortstop,” McAdam wrote. “Story’s metrics weren’t good this past year and a move to the other side of the infield might cover up some range issues as well as declining arm strength.

“Story was a plus-defender at second in his first year with the Red Sox. Of course, it was an easier sell for the team then, with Xander Bogaerts as the incumbent shortstop; this would mean giving up his position to someone with 44 games of big league experience.”

Story put up negative-9 outs above average at shortstop this season, and it was evident that he’d regressed by the end of the season, making six errors in a seven-game stretch. Most of those were throwing errors, suggesting that the drop-off was as much about fatigue as anything else.

The Red Sox learned that forcing a veteran off his position can have disastrous consequences. But unlike Rafael Devers, Story has embraced his role as a leader, and sometimes leadership is best exemplified by an unselfish move.

More MLB: Red Sox Insider Has Bizarre Free Agency Plan To Solve Strikeout Crisis