Star shortstop Trevor Story’s six-year, $140 million contract with the Red Sox was a critical move for Boston to keep pace with the defending American League East champion Rays and the re-tooled Blue Jays. Leading up to the completion of the deal, though, the whole thing reportedly almost fell apart over a key issue: Story’s vaccination status.
Story was hesitant to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, which led to a three-day wait between reports of the agreement and Story’s official introduction as a member of the team on Wednesday. Story finally agreed to get vaccinated on Tuesday, paving the way for the deal to go through.