Less than five months after undergoing what was deemed season-ending shoulder surgery, Red Sox shortstop Trevor Story could be back in Boston’s lineup on Saturday. On Friday, manager Alex Cora told reporters that “there’s a good chance” Story will play for Boston this weekend.

Cora told the Boston Herald, “If he makes it tomorrow here without falling down or doing something, there’s a good chance he’s going to play shortstop for us tomorrow.”

Story has been out since April 5th after dislocating his left shoulder diving for a ground ball against the Angels. He underwent shoulder surgery on April 12th to repair a fractured glenoid, with an initial recovery estimate of six months. But the 31-year-old shortstop and Boston’s training staff decided to ramp up his recovery after the All-Star break.

Story started a rehab assignment with Triple-A Worcester on Sunday, going 6-for-16 in four games with the WooSox. He started his rehab assignment as the WooSox designated hitter before returning to shortstop for three of his four games. Less than five months after his expected season-ending shoulder surgery, Story has been cleared to return to the majors.

Red Sox Shortstop Trevor Story Expected To Return On Saturday

According to Cora, Story will be taking over at shortstop down the stretch, moving rookie Ceddanne Rafaela to second base. Story was batting .226/.294/.323 through eight games for the Red Sox before injuring his shoulder. Cora said he hopes Story’s production during his rehab stint this past week can carry over to the Red Sox.

“Hopefully it happens that he carries the offense, but he’s just going to be part of the offense,” Cora said. “He feels good about it, just talking to the people in Triple-A. He drove the ball to the gaps yesterday, so we’ll see.”

Story has appeared in just 145 of Boston’s 464 games since signing a six-year, $140 million deal with the Red Sox in 2022. Since then, the two-time All-Star has struggled to stay healthy. Boston has lost 11 of their last 14 games going into Friday’s series-opener against Chicago, sitting 5.5 games behind the AL Wild Card. However, with 21 games remaining, the Red Sox have not been eliminated from contention entirely. Story told reporters that he is excited to return to the majors and help Boston make their final postseason push.

“It’s something that we didn’t think was a realistic possibility for this year,” Story said. “We had written it off and now it’s going to happen, so I can’t wait for that and just excited to try to help the team win.”