It’s been a long time since there’s been any good news on Dustin Pedroia, and nothing changed Thursday morning.
The Boston Red Sox second baseman will not be at spring training Monday when all position players are required to report. Pedroia recently suffered a setback in his comeback attempt for the knee injury that has limited him to just nine games since 2017.
“He’s still sore,” Red Sox interim manager Ron Roenicke said Thursday, via ESPN’s Joon Lee. “The (left) knee is still sore. The setback is still there. He won’t be here Monday. He’s going to try to evaluate what happens here. He’s going to continue to talk to the people in Arizona and (head trainer) Brad (Pearson) to figure out what the next step is and where he goes from it.”
Roenicke, who served as bench coach for the last two seasons, barely has seen Pedroia play since joining the Red Sox in 2018. There’s a chance he never will see the “Laser Show” play another game in Major League Baseball.
“It was never comfortable on the other side having to face him, especially when the game is on the line,” Roenicke said. “It’s just not comfortable. Whenever you see a great player age differently and he’s not as good, that part is easy to see. But not when it’s an injury and he’s not been able to perform. That part is really difficult.”
Pedroia, 36, is a .299 hitter over his 14 seasons with the Red Sox. He also has an MVP, four Gold Glove Awards, a Rookie of the Year Award and three World Series championships on his resume.
