The Red Sox have designated infielder Yu Chang for assignment, with manager Alex Cora confirming the move to reporters (including Chris Cotillo of MassLive). His roster spot will go to Trevor Story, who has now been activated from the 60-day injured list.
Story underwent elbow surgery in January, an internal brace procedure that was clearly going to put him out of action for a long time. The club didn’t put a specific timeline on it then, saying that Story could return late in the 2023 campaign, though chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom said at the time it was “not something at this stage we want to bank on.”
The Sox have been spinning plates at the shortstop position even since that news, with Chang, Enrique Hernández, Pablo Reyes, David Hamilton, Christian Arroyo, Bobby Dalbec and Enmanuel Valdéz all having seen some time there, while Adalberto Mondesí was acquired in the offseason but has spent all year on the IL thus far. None of those players have proven to be a standout, with Hernández having since been traded to the Dodgers, Arroyo outrighted off the roster, while Hamilton, Dalbec and Valdéz are in the minors on optional assignment.
In the case of Chang, he got some fairly regular playing time early on but suffered a fractured hamate in late April and didn’t return until early July. In 39 games around that IL stint, he’s hit just .162/.200/.352 this year. He’s played all four infield positions and has been graded well at each of them but the offense is clearly lacking. He’s out of options and so the club had little choice but to remove him from the roster.
That’s generally been the narrative around Chang in his career, as he is capable of providing strong defense at various positions but hasn’t found a way to contribute much with the bat. His career batting line is now .204/.265/.359 through 650 plate appearances.
Despite that tepid offensive performance and his out-of-options status, he’s generally drawn interest from clubs around the league. Last year, he bounced from the Guardians to the Pirates, Rays and Red Sox but didn’t carve out a lasting role with any of the four. With the trade deadline now behind us, the Sox will have to put Chang on waivers, either the outright or the release variety. It’s possible that he garners interest yet again, perhaps on a club outside contention that can give him regular playing time to try to get into a groove. He can be retained via arbitration for two seasons beyond this one.
Story will now step back onto the roster, though Alex Speier of the Boston Globe reported yesterday that he will play every other day for now, as he continues ramping back up to regular action. With Chang now off the roster, Reyes will likely share some of the shortstop duties as Story continues to build up to a full-time role.