Isiah

Kiner-Falefa

Isiah Kiner-Falefa seems to have cooled off, so he’s taking a seat after 10 straight starts. The switch-hitting Seigler was called up Wednesday after hitting .298/.425/.471 in 30 games for Triple-A Worcester. He appeared in one of his first three games on the roster, going 0-for-2.

Since Trevor Story has been injured and Marcelo Mayer has shifted to shortstop, Kiner-Falefa has been getting regular starts for the Red Sox at second base. Since the beginning of May, he’s hitting .357/.438/.476 in 49 plate appearances with one home run, eight RBI, and two steals. He can be picked up in deeper fantasy formats while he’s getting regular playing time.

Story will likely be sidelined until at least late July after undergoing the procedure on May 22. The 33-year-old shortstop was playing through the injury for most of the season, which clearly had a negative impact on his production at the plate. It’ll be Marcelo Mayer and Isiah Kiner-Falefa handling shortstop in his absence until the second half of the year.

It makes sense that Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy is giving Kiner-Falefa some additional run since he’s hitting an absurd .414 (12-for-29) with one homer, seven RBI and one steal over his last 15 games. Marcelo Mayer heads to the bench on Saturday afternoon in Cleveland after starting four of the previous five games at shortstop for Boston.

Kiner-Falefa thought he had his first homer Sunday, a potential three-run walkoff blast against the Twins. Instead, it turned out to be a wall-scraper on a wet day in Boston and the Red Sox came up a run short in a 6-5 loss. He did get his first homer tonight, taking Dylan Lee deep in the seventh after Lee went his first 24 1/3 innings this year without allowing a homer. He also singled in two runs in another ninth-inning rally that came up just short in a 7-6 loss. Kiner-Falefa is up to .278/.350/.370 for the season, so he’s likely looking at additional playing time in the short term. That’s more bad news for Caleb Durbin.

Boston’s former top prospect will get his first chance at shortstop later this weekend and figures to get an extended run at the position with Trevor Story on the injured list recovering from sports hernia surgery. Ultimately, it didn’t make a lot of sense for the Red Sox to keep rolling with Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Andruw Monasterio at the position with Story facing an extended absence. The 23-year-old was one of the top shortstop prospects in baseball before moving to third base last year.

It’s notable that Kiner-Falefa is making his second straight start at the spot with Andruw Monasterio on the bench. The 31-year-old infielder appears likely to help fill the void created when Trevor Story hit the injured list with a sports hernia last weekend. The widely-held assumption was that Boston would give former top prospect Marcelo Mayer a look at the position, but that doesn’t appear imminent.

The move is now official. It’s unclear whether Story will require surgery to address the groin issue that Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy told reporters has been bothering him pretty much all season. The lingering physical issue certainly helps explain his abysmal performance at the plate where he’s batted .206/.244/.303 triple-slash line with three homers and four steals through 41 games. It would make sense for the Red Sox to consider moving former top prospect Marcelo Mayer back to shortstop, but all indications are that Andruw Monasterio is going to be their short-term stopgap at the position with Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Nick Sogard taking the occasional turn. There should be some additional clarity on Story’s return timeline relatively soon.

Mayer made a prominent base-running mistake during the ninth inning of Friday’s lopsided defeat, but he’s been one of the few bright spots for the Red Sox recently, hitting .300 (6-for-20) with a pair of RBI over his last seven games. The 23-year-old former top prospect is hitting just .222/.296/.365 with one homer and one steal through 22 games overall. It’ll be veteran Isiah Kiner-Falefa at the keystone on Saturday afternoon to face Orioles lefty Trevor Rogers.

No surprise here with Tigers lefty ace Tarik Skubal toeing the rubber at Fenway Park. Losing Romy Gonzalez to a shoulder injury, in addition to Rob Refsnyder departing via free agency in the offseason, has led to some serious issues for the Red Sox against southpaws this season. Duran heads to the bench along with Masataka Yoshida and Marcelo Mayer while Trevor Story moves to DH. It’ll be Andruw Monasterio at shortstop, Caleb Durbin at the hot corner and Isiah Kiner-Falefa at the keystone. It’s not great.