Red Sox may have to make room for Trevor Story at Isiah Kiner-Falefa’s expense as both near returns originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Boston Red Sox have started another win streak, as they haven’t lost in their past four games, and all of them have been thrillers. Their current roster is electric, and when the going gets tough, they lock in, and do what they can to get the W.
And now, their stars who were injured at the beginning of the season are starting to return. However, with the current middle infielders truly producing for the Sox, bringing back both Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Trevor Story might throw a wrench in the gears. With that in mind, one of them might have to go, and the odd man out is Kiner-Falefa.
The statistical differenceJonathan Dyer - Imagn Images
In the 47 games he played for the Red Sox, Kiner-Falefa slashed .277/.344/.361/.705 with four doubles, two home runs, 13 RBI, and seven stolen bases.
As for Story, he slashed .206/.244/.303/.547 with seven doubles, three home runs, 19 RBI, and four stolen bases in 41 games.
Overall, it seems like Kiner-Falefa is the better player, and should get the spot on the Boston roster, if they were to only choose one. However, he would probably not, thanks to one huge problem.
The financial tiebreakerImagn Images
That problem being the financials. Back in 2022, Boston signed Story to a six-year, $140 million contract, with a $25 million club option for 2028. The Red Sox gave him this giant contract because they thought he would be a star, as seen from his Colorado Rockies days where he was an All-Star, Silver Slugger, and MVP candidate.
However, that never came to pass. Through injuries and an overall poor performance, this contract has aged like milk for Boston. But, because of how big it is, they can’t keep him banished to AAA, they can’t trade him without eating 80% of it, and if they release him, they still have to pay one more year.
As for Kiner-Falefa, he’s on a one-year, $6 million rental. His contract is very much dumpable to keep the roster the same.
What will Boston do? © David Butler II-Imagn Images
Push comes to shove, they keep him in AAA or waive him, and Story comes back so they can keep him at the MLB-level, and hope he performs well enough that someone will trade for him over the offseason, and they won’t have to eat as much.
The time Kiner-Falefa put in before his injury isn’t as good as Nick Sogard, Mickey Gasper or even Anthony Seigler’s contributions to Boston’s turnaround, so cutting him now or letting him stay at AAA might be their best option.
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