FORT MYERS, Fla. – When Thomas Edison was trying to invent the lightbulb, he put a positive spin on the concept of failure.

“I have not failed,” he said. “I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”

Such was true for Alex Bregman and Trevor Story, too.

“We’ve gotten close over the last few years,” Story said on Saturday morning, recalling his ‘21-22 free agency. “He was kind of recruiting me to Houston.”

That attempt didn’t work, but it paved the way for one that did.

“The roles had reversed,” the veteran shortstop said with a smile. “I was recruiting pretty hard (for him) to come here, and it’s great to see that we got it done.”

Story wouldn’t take credit for being the reason Bregman left longer-term offers on the table to come to Boston, but he noted the impact recruiting had on his own free agency decision.

“I was on the other side of it, and I know how big of a role (recruiting) played for me, because I was hearing from (Xander Bogaerts), I was hearing from Nate (Eovaldi), I was hearing from Chris Sale, Kiké (Hernandez), all these guys,” he recalled. “In your mind you start to see, put yourself in that situation, how it would look, how it would feel. … Like I said, it played a big role for me.”

To recruit Bregman, Story opted for a casual, personal approach.

“Just shooting him a text here and there, just talking ball any time we can, sharing videos, sharing hitting videos, just kind of re-sparking that relationship to hopefully sometime or someday be teammates,” he explained. “It’s a fun thing to do, and you’re kind of on the edge of your seat seeing what’s going to happen.”

Story and Bregman also arrived in similar boats. A career shortstop with the Colorado Rockies, Story shifted to second base for his first year in Boston, then returned to short when Boston let Xander Bogaerts go that winter. Bregman plays the same position as Rafael Devers; throughout the offseason Alex Cora has reiterated that Bregman could be a Gold Glover at second as well.

“We don’t know how the infield is going to be aligned, but if that’s the case, I did- I played second for that first year here,” Story said, “and I think he’s kind of a shortstop at heart, back in his LSU days.

“I think if you just take that mentality anywhere you’re playing on the infield, it’ll serve you well. And I think for me that’s the way I did it, and just try to stay as athletic as possible. No matter where you’re playing at, I think that’s what plays. “

Regardless, with Story healthy and the addition of Bregman, Boston’s infield, an area of need, could be infinitely, season-changingly stronger. The Red Sox were one of three teams to clear triple digits in errors last year, leading the American League with 115, second only to the Miami Marlins’ 117.

“Any time you can have a Gold Glove infielder, it’s a big thing,” Story said. “It’s kind of been a weakness of ours the last couple years, which, you know, it bothers me, because I haven’t been able to be out there and play and to help that out. But a great addition to kind of shore things up, because if we’re going to go where we want to go, we need to play good defense.”

If the Red Sox are able to reach their desired destination this year, Bregman will be a valuable tour guide for a team full of players who’ve never entered the promised land that is October baseball.

“He’s had the success, he’s won championships. It’s a big thing, I think, that goes overlooked a lot of times,” Story said. “And so having a guy that can calm the waters a little bit there. Because that’s where we plan on going. We plan on playing to the very end.”