The Boston Red Sox are almost always willing to spend big on top talent. This financial philosophy obviously has its advantages, but it also makes Boston vulnerable to occasional overpayments.
Boston was lucky this year to sign at least two bargain deals in Tanner Houck and Jarren Duran, both of whom were named All-Stars despite making less than $1 million. Duran could even get MVP votes, which is a ridiculous value at $760,000.
Deals like Duran and Houck make up for the ugly contracts on Boston’s payroll. The deal with shortstop Trevor Story is the most glaring example.
How much does Story’s contract ($22.5 million this season) hurt the Red Sox given his unavailability?
According to a new report from Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report, Story is one of the two most overpaid shortstops in Major League Baseball. In the article published Sunday, titled “Introducing MLB’s 2024 All-Overpaid Team,” Miller named Story and Javier Báez of the Detroit Tigers as the two most overpaid players at their position.
“Without a doubt, Báez has been the bigger detriment to his team,” Miller said. “But at least he’s playing. He may play miserably most of the time, but there is hope that he something help out on any given night.”
“Story, on the other hand, has been out for a week of the season – after missing 187 games over the past two years – and has left Boston in a difficult position in center field all season. Story is unexpectedly close to returning from what was originally supposed to be a season-ending shoulder surgery, but we’ll see if that helps the Red Sox at all in their attempt to sneak back into the wild-card ranks.”
Story signed a six-year, $140 million contract with Boston in 2022. Miller called the contract “terrible,” and given the meager 145 games Story has played in three seasons since signing the deal, it’s hard to disagree.
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