Pedroia done, for now
Season over, 2B eyes return in ’19
Dustin Pedroia’s season is officially over.
To rush back in 2018 is “probably not wise for my career and my life to do that,” Pedroia said. “And the team pointed that out.”
But after having another surgery on his left knee in July, one the Red Sox kept quiet until revealing the information yesterday, Pedroia has renewed confidence that his career isn’t going to end anytime soon.
“Honestly, I didn’t think that way up until probably six weeks ago because of the discomfort and things I was going through,” the 35-year-old second baseman said on his return to Fenway Park yesterday afternoon. “And how well I felt before I played those three games (in May), and then that one day I woke up and I knew something was up. But after the ’scope to clean things up, that’s when I knew everything was fine.
“Actually, I might be a little bit faster.”
Back in Boston for the first time since leaving the team in July to spend time rehabbing on his own at his home in Arizona, Pedroia met with manager Alex Cora on Thursday night to discuss his future.
It was clear to Pedroia he wouldn’t be able to play again this year, not since having the additional surgery to clean up scar tissue in his knee. Cora said Pedroia understood it would be more important for him to get healthy for 2019 than try to play again in 2018.
“He knows,” Cora said. “For how much the heart and his will gets into him, I see him doing special things just because he wills himself to do it. But he understands where he’s at. He’s saying that he’s getting close but he’s not there.
“He won’t contribute on the field, but he’ll be with us the rest of the season and hopefully he’ll be with us in October. He’ll be a big part of this.”
Pedroia said his original surgery last October is one that, in retrospect, should take 1012 months to properly recover from. He returned in May, about seven months after surgery, but lasted only three games before his knee began feeling an increased level of pain.
“That’s why at the end of last year I was so adamant I didn’t want to have surgery, because I knew how long ... the process would be,” he said. “I don’t look back and say I did anything or we did anything wrong. Or even when I came back and played those few games, I was cleared to play and was feeling fine and we all thought I was going to be able to respond and recover.
“The problem was, it healed a little bit too much. And I had some scar tissue causing issues. And the doctor explained to me that 25 percent of the patients that have that surgery require a follow-up ’scope to clean up scar tissue. Unfortunately I was part of that 25 percent of the people that have that. So it happens.”
The minor surgery in July revealed scar tissue that needed to be removed.
Following the surgery, Pedroia spent a few days on crutches before restarting rehab. Quickly, he began to feel much better, though he didn’t have enough time to get to a point where he felt like he could contribute this season.
“It was kind of stuck to the area where I had surgery and it was pulling on it and obviously it was painful,” Pedroia said. “We took care of that. Once that happened, I was pretty relieved. Just the way I felt, the way I was moving and the way I was recovering. I’m excited going forward.”
Pedroia said he expects to be fully ready for spring training in February. He’s under contract through 2021.
“I’ll be fine,” he said. “That build-up time will be more than enough. I’ll take a lot of ground balls in the offseason and hit on the field, things like that to get ready for the season.”
Pedroia said he’s watched every inning of the Red Sox’ season and stayed in communication with his teammates.
“I text with the guys all the time, after big wins or things like that,” he said. “I mostly get texts when guys are grinding at the plate, asking if I see anything, or they need a motivational pep talk.
“We’re never out of any game, I think that’s the cool part. It doesn’t matter what the score is. Just like the other day it was (7-1 in Atlanta), I’m sitting there watching like, ‘this game is not over.’ I felt that. And that’s what every single guy has built into them. That’s the thing you appreciate is there’s always fight in this team.”