One day, the Lasershow will end, but that day won’t come in 2019. Due to a plethora of injuries, the former Rookie of the Year and MVP has only played one full season since playing 160 games in 2013. Tough as he is, injuries take their toll in the end, and Dustin Pedroia has endured more than his fair share. He appeared in just three games in 2018, and many began to wonder if that was the end.
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Fast forward to the present day, and Pedroia is now ostensibly healthier than he has been in a long time. We may question whether or not he will remain so, but for the time being, we should have no concerns about his health. Given that, we can actually expect quite a bit from the 35-year-old second baseman. His defense, of course, will never be in question, and his offense shouldn’t be either. In recent years, when he has been able to take the field, Pedroia has been a solid contributor at worst.
In 2015, though he saw action in only 93 games, he still hit .291 with 19 doubles and 12 home runs. Just three years ago, across 154 games, he put up 15 bombs, 36 doubles, a .318 average, and a .825 OPS, all good for a 5.2 WAR. He was limited to 105 games two seasons ago but hit .293 with 19 doubles and 62 RBI. This is all to say that, when healthy, Pedroia can still hit, and hit well. The story of the offseason for him should not be about what he has left in the tank; instead, we should only wonder if he can stay on the road. If he can, his recent history has proven he has more than enough gas left.