Sox in position of power for ’19
Will have few holes in lineup
Barring the unforeseen, like Manny Machado and Bryce Harper each accepting a team-friendly deal, the Red Sox pretty much are all set on the position player front for next season.
Not only is Steve Pearce back in the fold, but the team expects second baseman Dustin Pedroia to be back on the field as well.
“(Pedroia) is not going to have surgery,” Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said yesterday about Pedroia. “We’re hopeful he’ll be ready for the season.”
Pedroia is 35 years old and is signed for three more years, and a year ago the club was also hopeful that he would be fine for the 2018 season. But his knee, which was repaired in an experimental surgery before the 2017 season, was a problem for most of this past season, when he could play in only three games.
The club is hopeful he can improve a great deal on the three-game total next season, but if he can’t, Dombrowski said the club has enough internal solutions to cover. And with second base covered, that accounts for every starting and bench position.
“The reality is if you look at our club, there’s not a lot of holes there from a positional player perspective — we’re hopeful that Dustin will be fine,” Dombrowski said. “I think if we’re going to look to protect ourself, of course we have Brock (Holt), we’ve got Tzu-Wei Lin, we’ve got Eduardo Nunez. I would think that (more) people would be more of a tendency to have to be a non-roster invitee at this time for the simple fact that we just don’t have any positions to really promise anyone at this time because we’re hopeful that Dustin will be ready.”
Dombrowski said Pedroia still is in rehab and therapy but that in mid-December he will ramp up his physical activity before beginning running in the middle of January.
“As far as position players, pretty well set,” Dombrowski said.
Pearce, who will turn 36 years old next April, is thrilled to be back with the Red Sox after inking a oneyear deal with them worth $6.25 million last Friday.
“It was a very easy decision,” the 2018 World Series MVP said. “This was the place I wanted to be. The team that I was on, how everything was done there, bringing everybody back — it was a no-brainer for me. This is where I wanted to play.”
Pearce reiterated why he enjoyed playing for the Red Sox so much and why he wanted to return.
“The chemistry that we had on and off the field, wanting to defend a title — that’s a big deal,” Pearce said. “And I can accomplish all of that by going back to the Sox.”
Pearce will continue to platoon at first base with Mitch Moreland, who is 33 years old, and also is signed only through next season.
That is one reason why, Dombrowski said, the club signed Pearce and signed him for only one year.
“We really like the combination, but we really felt for us, where they are in their careers and where we are as an organization, we really did want to hold them to one year,” Dombrowski said. “We really like the combination that we have with Mitch and Steve at first base and of course the ability to DH and in Steve’s case, he can move around a little bit even though we didn’t do that much last year. I’m not sure that’s what we will do this year, but when he came over here, you saw what he did out in the field. He produced. He did just what we had hoped for. Again, he hits (left-handed) pitching extremely well, which we were a little short on at that time, but it doesn’t mean he doesn’t hit right-handed pitching, too. He’s a good overall performer. But really vs. lefthand side he excels.”
Dombrowski said the Sox have stayed in touch with former closer Craig Kimbrel and former starter Nathan Eovaldi, both free agents.
“Don’t know and can’t tell you where it stands other than that we’ve been in contact with them, and we’ll continue to do so,” Dombrowski said. “And I think we’re at the point now where we’re getting to that third week in November, we’re here toward Thanksgiving, we continue to have conversations with clubs and free agents, so we’re doing both.”
The Sox have a clear need for relievers, but Dombrowski indicated the rotation mostly is set. However, he left plenty of room for interpretation that another starter could be considered.
Dombrowski said if infielder Marco Hernandez, who has had a couple of shoulder surgeries over the last couple of years, is ready he will play in the minor leagues next season.