Trevor Story, who was a candidate for the next starting shortstop for the 2023 season, will undergo surgery. From the perspective of the Boston Red Sox, it is truly ‘super-emergency’. In the local media, the voice that wants Kim Ha-seong is getting higher.
‘MLB.com’ reported on the 11th (Korean time), “Boston Red Sox Trevor Story has undergone right elbow surgery.” The story of being selected as the U.S. team for the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC) is an inevitable situation, including a failure to participate in the tournament and even a departure at the beginning of the season.
Story had surgery on the medial collateral ligament (UCL) of his right elbow on the 11th. The medial collateral ligament in the elbow is subject to Tommy John surgery, but Story underwent a different operation. In other words, it is expected to take 4-6 seasons to recover and return to the field faster than Tommy John surgery. ESPN’s Jeff Passan called it “modified Tommy John surgery.”
Boston lost its starting shortstop in this Stove League. Zander Bogarts, who had been in charge of Boston’s center infield until last year, moved to the San Diego Padres through an 11-year, $280 million (approximately 349.7 billion won) super-large contract. Boston didn’t seem to be too concerned about Bogarts leaving the team. It is because they have players who can take on the main role of story.
Shortstop is a familiar position for Story, having played in 730 of 839 games in his 7 major league seasons. However, the reaction of the local media in the United States was unexpected.
For good reason. This is because Story played only second base in Boston last year. If Story moves to shortstop, Boston will inevitably make a chain move. If the story moves to shortstop, Kike Hernandez should play second base. If this happens, Boston’s outfield defense will be drastically weakened. 안전놀이터
In this situation, as Story underwent surgery, Boston was literally in a state of emergency. Boston local media ‘Mathlive.com’ expressed regret, saying, “After Bogatz signed with San Diego, there was an expectation that the story would be the answer. But now, in addition to losing Bogarts, I miss the story.”
On the 11th, ‘MathLive.com’ picked 21 shortstops that Boston could add in any way and did not leave out Ha-seong Kim. Ha-seong Kim is highly likely to take over as second baseman in the 2023 season as San Diego recently recruited Bogarts. For San Diego, with three shortstops including Fernando Tatis Jr., if the card is right, Ha-sung Kim can be traded at any time.
‘MathLive.com’ said, “San Diego signed a contract with Bogatz and was able to trade Ha-seong Kim.” He finished the 2022 season with a 4.9 WAR. Ha-seong Kim would be an ideal trade. The rise of the story only increased the possibility,” he said, actively emphasizing the recruitment of Kim Ha-sung.
Due to the transfer of Bogatz and the rise of the story, the value of Kim Ha-seong, the best traded item, is soaring to the ceiling. It remains to be seen what changes will occur to Kim Ha-seong’s position before the regular season begins.