Red Sox: Dustin Pedroia aiming to be ready by Opening Day

Boston Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia suggests he’s ahead of schedule in his recovery from offseason knee surgery.

When we learned that Dustin Pedroia underwent surgery to repair the troublesome knee that ailed him this year the expectation was that he would be sidelined for at least the first two months of the 2018 season. Apparently, the second baseman for the Boston Red Sox has another timeline in mind.

Pedroia has his eyes set on being back in the lineup by Opening Day.

Appearing on the Bradfo Sho podcast with WEEI’s Rob Bradford, Pedroia implied that he’s well ahead of schedule in his recovery.

"“That’s the difference of having my knee fixed than to when it wasn’t fixed — I couldn’t hit any miles per hour,” he said. “I couldn’t make gains because physically my knee was blowing out. I could only get to a point to where I could last a four-hour game. Now, I am getting ready for 162 [games] plus the playoffs. That is my mindset and that is how I feel. My legs are strong again.“I am hoping I get cleared next Wednesday to start running and get after it. That leaves me enough time to get to spring training to where I’m apart of it from the get-go and that is all I want.”"

That’s an ambitious target for a player who had cartilage restoration surgery about 11 weeks ago. Some may even suggest too ambitious – with “some” being a group primarily made up of doctors, the team’s medical staff and anyone familiar with the recovery process. The procedure generally takes at least six months to come back from. Red Sox pitcher Steven Wright underwent the same procedure in May and was never close to being able to return before the season ended five months later.

Yet Pedroia, always the gamer, is pushing himself to return in time to get some reps in spring training to prepare for the start of the regular season on March 29.

While I don’t question that Pedroia will push himself as hard as he can to get back on the field, the Red Sox may want to tell him to pump the breaks a bit. Never one to want to be out of the lineup, Pedroia has a history of trying to battle through physical ailments at the expense of his production.

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Pedroia dealt with a wrist injury throughout the 2014 season that required surgery in September of that year. He managed to stay in the lineup for 135 games but also had the worst statistical season of his career, hitting .274 with a .712 OPS. Last year the knee injury limited him to 105 games. He still posted a solid .293 batting average but his .760 OPS was the second-worst of his career. He still got his hits while in the lineup but with less authority than usual. There weren’t many laser shows on display last season.

Also, factor in that Pedroia is now 34 years old and at the stage of his career where his workload needs to be monitored. He wants to play 162 games but we know the team won’t let him. So what’s the rush to get him ready by Opening Day?

If the team’s medical staff clears Pedroia for game action then it may prove difficult for new manager Alex Cora to keep him off the field. As a former teammate, Cora knows as well as anyone how Pedroia’s competitive fire drives him.

If the team projects Pedroia to at least be ready at some point in April then it may alter Dave Dombrowski’s approach to finalizing the roster. Fans have been pushing for the team to re-sign Eduardo Nunez, with the idea being he could fill in for Pedroia for two months before shifting to a utility role. If Pedroia returns ahead of schedule then it would limit the amount of playing time they can offer Nunez, which could persuade him to explore other options in free agency.

Having Pedroia available earlier than anticipated could make it harder for infielders Deven Marrero or Marco Hernandez to make the Opening Day roster. Brock Holt is also in the backup infielder mix and it may be difficult to squeeze all three on the roster if Pedroia is active.

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Pedroia’s comments may merely be his way of pushing himself by setting high expectations rather than an acknowledgment of an Opening Day return being realistic. It seems unlikely that Pedroia will return that quickly but one thing we can’t doubt is that when he sets a goal for himself he’ll work as hard as he can to achieve it.