Red Sox hero Pedroia forced to retire
BOSTON — Dustin Pedroia, the undersized and overachieving second baseman who spurred the Boston Red Sox to a pair of World Series victories with his grit, has retired.
Pedroia, 37, was the AL Rookie of the Year in 2007 and the MVP in his second season but has played in only nine games in three seasons since since a spikes-high slide by thenOrioles shortstop Manny Machado took out his knee in 2017.
“I never took one play off, from Little League on,” Pedroia said on a videoconference Monday after acknowledging he would not be able to return, despite six surgeries that included a partial knee replacement in December. “At some point, you can’t play anymore. And this is the time.”
A four-time All-Star and four-time Gold Glove winner, Pedroia batted .299 with 140 homers and 725 RBIs in a 17-year career, all with the Red Sox. He is the only player to earn Rookie of the Year, Gold Glove and MVP awards along with a World Series title in his first two full seasons. In other baseball news:
• The St. Louis Cardinals completed their blockbuster trade to acquire All-Star third baseman Nolan Arenado from the Colorado Rockies. St. Louis dealt lefthander Austin Gomber and four minor leaguers to the Rockies: infielders Elehuris Montero and Mateo Gil along with righthanders Tony Locey and Jake Sommers. Colorado will send cash to St. Louis to offset part of what Arenado is due in his contract.
• Mickey Callaway, who managed the New York Mets for two seasons before being fired in 2019, has been accused of making unwanted sexual advances by five women who work in sports media, according to a report from The Athletic. Callaway, currently the pitching coach of the Los Angeles Angels, wrote in an email that he would not respond to “general allegations.”
• Delino DeShields, who spent the first four seasons of his MLB career with Texas, agreed to a minor-league deal with the Rangers after playing last season with Cleveland.