Unfortunately for the Red Sox, doctor's orders have been to take things slow.
According to the Providence Journal, the Red Sox second baseman spoke with Dr. Lewis Yocum on Tuesday, and Yocum told Pedroia that his broken left foot could be damaged permanently if he doesn’t allow it to heal properly.
"It kind of scared me a little bit," Pedroia told the Journal. "There’s nothing really I can do. It’s just takes time to heal. He kind of told me I can’t play unless I feel no pain, which isn’t good.
"Where I broke it, I didn’t realize how serious it was and how long it was going to take. He told me that [Tuesday]."
Pedroia has been antsy to speed through his recovery — fielding ground balls from his knees and taking batting practice in a protective boot — since being put on the disabled list on June 26.
"He's like a caged animal," Red Sox manager Terry Francona told WEEI last week. "We have got to get him back in the lineup, or someone is going to kill him."
Pedroia was hoping return around the end of the Red Sox’ West Coast road trip, only about five weeks after he suffered the injury. But in light of the new advice, he’s scaling that ambition back a bit.
"I don’t really know how long it’s going to be," Pedroia told the Journal. "They said six weeks at the start, but I have yet to meet somebody who has come back in six weeks from this injury. I’m trying as hard as I can to do that."
Francona has ordered Pedroia to stop any rehab activity and to rest until a CT scan is conducted in Boston on Friday.
"He just told me to stop being an idiot, chill out. So I’ve got to kind of hang out, chill out. I’m not going to hit, throw, take ground balls, nothing. I’m just going to sit, watch the games and get my treatment."
In other injury news, catcher Jason Varitek, also suffering from a broken left foot, remains on crutches. He is a couple of weeks behind Pedroia in terms of recovery.
Fellow catcher Victor Martinez was activated from the disabled list before Monday’s game, and batted sixth in the lineup. He had been on the DL since June 28 with a fractured left thumb.
"He certainly won't be hitting sixth very long," Francona told ESPN.com, regarding Martinez. "It wasn't fair to stick him in third or fourth until he gets some games under his belt."
Martinez hit an RBI-single in his first at-bat against newly acquired Angels pitcher Dan Haren.
Outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury is working his way back from a broken rib with the club’s Gulf Coast League affiliate. He went 1-for-2 with a stolen base in his second rehab game, and is expected to move to Portland or Pawtucket to continue his recovery. There is no official timetable for his return, but he said he should be back with the Red Sox soon.
Mike Lowell, recovering from hip pain, played in his fourth rehab game on Tuesday and belted three home runs. He is 8-for-18 (.444) with seven RBIs and six extra-base hits with the PawSox and could be activated as early as Friday.
