Don’t close the book on Dustin Pedroia’s career just yet.
According to Boston Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom, the 36-year-old second baseman is preparing as if he’ll return in 2020 despite acknowledging earlier this year he wasn’t sure whether he’d ever play again following another setback in his recovery from a knee injury.
“Every indication I’ve gotten is that he’s feeling good and intending on playing,” Bloom told reporters Monday at the Major League Baseball general managers’ meetings in Scottsdale, Ariz. “I know he’s working pretty hard to make sure he’s in as good a shape as possible.”
Bloom wasn’t too specific about Pedroia’s health, and Red Sox general manager Brian O’Halloran said Monday the club still plans to meet with the four-time All-Star in an effort to learn more. But this represents another interesting storyline amid an important offseason for the Red Sox, who stumbled through a disappointing 2019 campaign after winning the World Series in 2018.
Pedroia was limited to just nine games over the past two seasons because of three knee surgeries, the most recent of which he underwent in August. While retirement sure seemed like an option when Pedroia, who last appeared in a game on April 17, took an indefinite leave from the team in May, it now appears we shouldn’t rule out a return to the diamond, even though it’s nearly impossible to project his availability at this point.
“I would never think of it as a problem to have Dustin Pedroia on our 40-man roster and be concerned about planning around him,” O’Halloran told reporters Monday. “It’s good to have him on our roster, and hopefully he continues to progress and is in the mix.”
Pedroia, a four-time Gold Glove Award winner, has two years and $25 million remaining on his contract.
