Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia will have a productive year
By Quinn Allen
Dustin Pedroia is back and ready to contribute to the Red Sox in 2019 after several knee injuries that kept him out for all of last season.
After three different knee surgeries in the last 18 months, Dustin Pedroia is finally healthy and ready to contribute for the Boston Red Sox this season.
He is already penciled in as Alex Cora‘s starting second basemen on Opening Day, but age could always catch up with the former AL MVP. His gritty style of play has resulted in knee problems over the last couple of seasons, but despite Boston winning a title without him last year, Pedroia is the heart and soul of this club. The energy he brings to this team both on and off the field cannot be replaced and it will be a huge plus for Boston to have their veteran second basemen back in the mix of things.
It’s crazy to think how much better Boston can be, but with Pedroia back at second base, it gives them more depth offensively and defensively. Despite a lot of people wary of how Pedroia will perform this year, I believe we’re going to see the old Dustin Pedroia in 2019.
Pedroia will have a huge year for the Sox
Pedroia is a .301 hitter throughout his career. His last full year in the bigs was in 2017 when the second baseman hit .293 in 105 games. Dave Dombrowski has voiced that they hope Pedroia can grind out around 125 games this season, which is very possible if he can stay healthy. He’s always been known as a player who plays the game at 110 percent, which is awesome. But at his age now and after suffering a pretty bad knee injury he will have to play with a little more care when it comes to laying his body on the line because one more bad injury could be the end of one of the best players to ever put on a Red Sox uniform.
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For people to doubt his abilities is absolutely foolish though. This guy is a four-time All-Star, four-time Gold Glove winner, and he was also the American League MVP back in ’08. He loves to play this game. It’s evident by how hard he has worked to get back to 100 percent. Pedroia sent a video to Alex Cora before spring training of him taking ground balls at a local Arizona junior college in his full jersey, which gave Cora a chuckle.
People can say he won’t be the same because he hasn’t played a full season since 2017 after registering just 11 at-bats last season, but you have to realize that doubting Pedroia is the best thing you can do. He has been doubted his entire baseball career because of his small stature, from high school through college at Arizona State until the day he arrived in the big leagues. Pedroia is used to the criticism and at this point, he loves it. He has proved everyone wrong his entire career, becoming one of the most decorated players in Red Sox history.
Predictions for Pedroia’s year
I believe Pedroia will play around 130 games this year, hitting .280 with 10-15 homers. He’ll be the defensive wizard he’s always been at second base while adding a spark at the top of the Boston lineup.
Red Sox second basemen hit a combined .250 last season, between Brock Holt, Eduardo Nunez, and Ian Kinsler. Pedroia will definitely be an upgrade from those three when it comes to offensive productivity.
Next. Sale believes Pedroia will have big year. dark
Everyone on this team believes in Dustin Pedroia. He may have a big mouth, but he has always backed it up. Pedroia is a true pro who eats and breathes the game of baseball. It’s very hard to find guys who play with this type of passion on an everyday basis. Pedroia will be a huge part of this club this season on their quest for back to back World Series titles.