Red Sox: Dustin Pedroia included on All-Star Final Vote ballot

Boston Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia is among the five candidates on the Final Vote ballot for the MLB All-Star Game.

The Boston Red Sox already have six players heading to San Diego for the 2016 MLB All-Star Game next week, but it’s not too late to send a seventh.

Second baseman Dustin Pedroia is among the five American League candidates on the Final Vote ballot, which will determine the final player selected to the All-Star roster in each league.

Fans can cast their vote on MLB.com to select from the list of finalists that were nominated by the All-Star Game managers. You can also text “VOTE” to 89269 (USA) or 101010 (Canada), as well tweet with the hashtag #FinalVote.

Pedroia, a four-time All-Star, is having another solid season after having struggled with injuries over the past two years. He enters the day hitting .305/.369/.441 with 8 home runs and 35 RBI. Those are All-Star worthy numbers for his position, but with Jose Altuve and Robinson Cano already on the AL roster, it may be difficult to squeeze in another second baseman.

Pedroia will also need to contend with another player at his position on the Final Vote ballot in Ian Kinsler, who is having a marginally better season. The veteran leader of the Red Sox is fourth among AL second baseman with a 2.9 WAR, behind Kinsler (3.2 WAR), Cano (4.1 WAR) and Altuve (4.6 WAR), who is third in the league among all position players.

The numbers may not favor Pedroia, but as we’ve come to learn, that hardly matters when fan voting is involved. Red Sox Nation helped vote in four position players as starters and they can do the same to carry Pedroia to the All-Star Game.

Voting ends on Friday, July 8, 2016, at 4:00 PM ET. Twitter votes using #FinalVote will only be counted on Friday between the hours of 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM.

Next: Red Sox second half outlook

Vote for Pedroia, then tune in to see several of your favorite Red Sox players at the 2016 MLB All-Star Game July 12 on FOX.