Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia could start playing in games in March

Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia could return to the lineup March 6th. The team is being cautious after he returned too soon from injury last year.

Since 2017, Dustin Pedroia has been battling a knee injury that has caused him to miss a significant amount of games. The Boston Red Sox had to sign Ian Kinsler last season to replace Pedroia as he rehabbed to get ready to play for 2019. Kinsler is now a San Diego Padre which leaves Pedroia, Eduardo Nunez, and Brock Holt as options for second base.

The Sox need their leader back at second base. After a long process of rehabbing his knee following different procedures, he’s motivated that he still has the ability to be a difference-maker in games.

Pedroia started running in January, about a month before spring training started. He got a head start because he knew it would take time to get back into full spring training mode in February. Last season, Pedroia came back to the lineup too soon. He played in three games and spent the rest of the season on the disabled list. He was cheering his teammates on from the dugout during their World Series run. Now he wants to play to get a chance at another World Series run. He wants to make sure he comes back at the right time and to see how his knee responds after games.

The target date for Pedroia to get back into games is March 6th but that’s very tentative, according to Chris Cotillo of MassLive.

How he feels will be the deciding factor if he can start playing yet. Manager Alex Cora doesn’t want to put a timeline on when Pedroia will be in the lineup.

“I don’t want to say next week or the end of next week,” Cora said. “The way things are going, probably after that road trip (to Port St. Lucie and West Palm Beach). Right around there, probably. After that.”

It would help if he played in a spring training game to get the practice of the full game speed on his knee. He’s been down this road before but knows if he comes back at the right time he’ll be alright. The March 6th date is against the Pirates at home which means Pedroia won’t have to travel.

Pedroia is more confident than he was a year ago in spring training. With the added treatment and being careful not to rush back like he did last year, he should be good to go. The added motivation is the outside noise saying he should retire and can’t help the Sox win. In my opinion, he’ll want to prove the doubters wrong that he can still play at a high level. If he comes back and plays well his knee feels good then that’s all that matters.