Boston sees Story as its remaining piece

BOSTON — The Red Sox had the advantage of low expectations last season. They came from being colistas and being marginalized from the playoffs for the second consecutive year.

Now Boston will try to improve what has been achieved in that surprising 2021, in which it accumulated 92 wins and obtained the wild card ticket, to reach the American League Championship Series.

With a notable addition, the Red Sox are hoping to usher in an era of consistency under chief of baseball operations Chaim Bloom after a decade that alternated between four Eastern Division titles and four seasons in last place.

His batting remains robust, with Rafael Devers, JD Martinez and Xander Bogaerts. However, they will require shortstop Trevor Story, who spent years with the Rockies, to make up for the departure of outfielders Kyle Schwarber and Hunter Renfroe.

And the starting rotation will have to fill the gaps left by the departures of Venezuelans Eduardo Rodríguez and Martín Pérez, at least until Chris Sale is healthy.

The Red Sox open the season on April 7, facing the New York Yankees, their bitter rivals.

For 11 straight seasons, the Red Sox had Dustin Pedroia at second base, who helped them win two World Series titles (and was named both Rookie of the Year and AL MVP).

Since 2017, when an injury ended the star’s career, the team has struggled to find a consistent replacement. Six players have spent at least a dozen games at this position.

That should change with the arrival of Story, who signed a six-year, $140 million deal after the lockout. Although he never played anything other than shortstop in the majors, he will move to second to allow Xander Bogaerts to continue at shortstop.

For the third year in a row, Sale will spend the opening day of the season on the disabled list. This time he’s recovering from a broken ribcage — a setback as he tries to complete his return from Tommy John surgery that sidelined him from the 2020 season and allowed him to make just nine starts in 21.

Without Rodriguez or Perez, Nathan Eovaldi sits at the top of the rotation, followed by Nick Pivetta, Tanner Houck, Michael Wacha and the 42-year-old Rich Hill.

For more than seven seasons, Jackie Bradley Jr. wowed Boston with his performance in center field. However, he left without it being clear if that was enough to make up for his weak hitting.

He signed with Milwaukee for the 2021 season and hit .163. In December, a trade put him back in Boston, where he’ll see if his career revives.

Matt Barnes earned the closer’s job in 2020 and lost it the previous season, after giving up nine runs in 4 2/3 innings over eight appearances in August.

This year, you will have a new opportunity.

The Red Sox have also added Jake Diekman, 35, who last year achieved the best statistics of his life, with seven saves in 67 relief for Oakland.