The Red Sox are sliding, but they might be on the verge of gaining a reinforcement who could provide a much-needed spark.

Trevor Story continues to make strides in his recovery from early season shoulder surgery, which was initially expected to sideline the star shortstop for the duration of the campaign. The 31-year-old had his latest rehab outing Monday, and he’s slated to play two more games with Triple-A Worcester this week.

From there, Boston very well could elect to add Story to the active roster.

“There’s a strong chance that Trevor Story will rejoin the Red Sox very soon,” The Boston Globe’s Julian McWilliams wrote in a column published Tuesday. “Story played five innings at shortstop Monday. The team was off Tuesday and he is scheduled to play again Wednesday and Thursday. He is slated to have Friday off and then the team will reassess what they do moving forward. (Alex) Cora added that the team doesn’t necessarily need to see Story play all nine innings before making his return.”

After losing their fourth straight game Tuesday, the Red Sox were fortunate to enter Wednesday only 4 1/2 games back of the final American League wild-card spot. If Boston can stay in the hunt for the rest of Story’s rehab stint, his return could help make the club a real threat to stage a miraculous comeback.

The Red Sox will try to avoid dipping to .500 on Wednesday when they wrap up their three-game series with the Mets. NESN’s coverage of the finale in New York begins at 6 p.m. ET.