Five months ago it looked like Trevor Story’s season was over. The Red Sox shortstop suffered a glenoid fracture in his shoulder while making a diving stop, and from that point on the club prepared to go the rest of the way without him.

Monday, Story stepped onto the field and took batting practice for the first time, a major step towards an improbable return.

“(It felt) really good,” Story said afterwards. “Just nice to be on the field for the first time and feeling all the first feelings.”

Story looks pretty good in the box. He just popped one out into the first row of the bleachers above the Bleacher Bar. pic.twitter.com/P0g3jNzNKM

— Mac Cerullo (@MacCerullo) August 12, 2024

Story went through his usual pregame batting routine and popped a couple of balls out for home runs. He said the plan now will be to keep hitting, and Cora said they’ll progress to hitting off a machine before eventually starting a rehab assignment.

That won’t happen this weekend, Cora said, but “it feels a lot closer now to what it was four or five months ago.”

“From that day in Anaheim all the way to now it’s incredible to be honest with you,” Cora said. “I was talking to the people at ESPN and they asked me when I really believed he was going to be part of this. (I said) in Colorado. He caught me off guard. We started talking and he’s saying I’m doing this, I’m doing this, I’m hitting this day, I’m hitting on the field this day and there’s a chance I’ll be ready. And I’m like, wow, that’s tremendous.”

Cora also credited Story for taking time away from the team to concentrate on his rehab work, saying that his being “selfish in a good way” put him on track for a return.

“He turned the corner and man, it’s been good,” Cora said.