ATLANTA — Shortstop Trevor Story, amid a brutal start to the season at the plate for the Boston Red Sox, is headed to the injured list with a sports hernia, an injury that may require surgery.The 33-year-old has met with Red Sox team doctors and is seeking a second opinion on whether to have surgery as doctors determine the severity of the injury and whether rest is a better option.“We’re trying to get the best information, not make a rushed decision,” Story said. “Obviously, surgery is not ideal or wanted, so trying to navigate this thing as best we can with the information that we have.”Story said that, based on what he knows from other players, if he has surgery, he could be out for six to 10 weeks.The injury first cropped up in spring training with what he originally thought was groin tightness. Through the start of the season, he managed the issue, missing three games, including Friday’s series-opening, 3-2 loss to the Atlanta Braves. Earlier this week, he had testing done that revealed it was a sports hernia.“It started as a groin and bounced to the hammy and the abdomen,” Story said. “You feel it in all kind of different places. And that’s the frustrating part, too. So, I think right off the bat, I didn’t take my mind to sports hernia. It’s more about just an isolated thing, and you try to treat it, but the more it kind of went on and stayed around, and from the (players) I talked to, they were telling me that’s what it was, without me really accepting it.”Story said the injury didn’t occur on one specific play, but after a few hard days in spring training, he started to feel it.“I just couldn’t kick it after that,” he said. “It’s been a battle for the first month, month and a half.“Tried to grind through it and just got to the point where I might need to take a timeout and evaluate some things a little further. Obviously, I haven’t been able to really move like myself out there. It kind of built up on me.”In 41 games, Story has struggled mightily at the plate, hitting .206 with a .547 OPS, three homers, seven doubles and a 32.4 percent strikeout rate, his highest mark since 2017.In the field, Story has struggled as well, with six errors, minus-1 Defensive Runs Saved and minus-3 Outs Above Average.Mayer to shortstop?To replace Story on the roster, the Red Sox recalled infielder Nick Sogard from Triple-A Worcester. Sogard, who has played 61 games for the Red Sox over the past two seasons, was hitting .269 with an .871 OPS at Worcester.Saturday, Andruw Monasterio started at shortstop for the Red Sox and will likely get a majority of the playing time at the position alongside Sogard. Monasterio is 5-for-11 with four doubles in his past three games.Marcelo Mayer has been playing well at second base, but he was drafted and developed as a shortstop. Interim manager Chad Tracy said that, depending on how long Story is out, they may consider moving Mayer to short.“I know the big question is Marcelo; everybody’s gonna want to know that,” Tracy said. “I do think part of that depends on knowing what’s happening with Trevor. Is this a three-week thing and he’s going to be back quick? Or is this a longer thing? We have definitely kicked (that) around. We know Marcelo has played short. He’s done it his whole life.”Marcelo Mayer came up as a shortstop but has started only two games there in the majors. He has made 46 starts at second base and 39 at third over the past two seasons. (Gregory Fisher / Imagn Images)“But definitely, number one, it’s not something we’re gonna do right now,” Tracy added. “And two, we can’t just fire him over there. If we are gonna do that, we need to get him some more (work). He’s taken no groundballs anywhere but second. So, again, let’s see what’s going on with Trevor, and then we’ll dive deeper into that.”When Tracy took over the team on April 26, he was informed that Story was experiencing groin tightness and would need to manage the symptoms.“Then there’s a slowly hit groundball, hard run down the line; it (nags) at him for a couple days,” Tracy said. “So, I’ve been aware of that. There’s been off days popped in there to make sure we get him back to neutral. So I don’t think anything got way worse or something happened worse. It’s just, he’s been dealing with it.”Story missed much of his first three seasons with the Red Sox because of injuries, including shoulder surgery in 2024. Last season, he played his first full season with Boston, hitting .263 with a .741 OPS in 157 games.Story is in the fourth year of a six-year, $140 million deal that runs through 2027 with a team option for 2028.“I pride myself on playing every day and posting, and I was able to do that last year and felt great about that, so it’s frustrating, for sure,” he said.In a clubhouse with few veteran voices, Story has taken on the main leadership role.“You guys know what he means to our team, his leadership in the locker room,” Tracy said. “He’s a big piece of the puzzle, so that part of it stinks. He’s meant a lot to me in my transition here, the way he’s accepted me and pushed other guys to do so. He’s a big piece of it. So, we’ll gather more info and see what ultimately happens with it.”Anthony, Crochet updatesThe Red Sox received some good news Friday, as outfielder Roman Anthony began throwing for the first time since spraining his wrist/hand during a swing on May 3.Anthony threw again Saturday at a longer distance with harder intensity. Tracy said the hope is that he can pick up a bat Monday and start swinging. Swinging a bat will mark progress, but Tracy warned there are still steps toward returning.“You can’t just hit flips and go into a game,” he said. “There’s going to have to be some level of machine velocity work to test it out as well. So, the important thing is we’re getting closer.”Starter Garrett Crochet (shoulder inflammation) threw a 35-pitch bullpen Saturday and is scheduled for an up/down session — in which he will mimic throwing two innings, but not against batters — on Wednesday in Kansas City.