Pedroia opts for knee surgery, will miss portion of season

The Red Sox’ off-season just got a lot more complicated.

Dustin Pedroia, the team’s longest-tenured player, underwent cartilage restoration surgery on his left knee in New York Wednesday morning, and won’t be anywhere near ready when the 2018 season begins in late March.

An hour after the Red Sox season ended on Oct. 9, Pedroia was asked about his off-season course of action for his troublesome knee.

Pedroia conceded that surgery was an option, but sounded very much like he wanted to avoid such a scenario since “if I were to get it fixed, the recovery is a long time.’’

It’s believed that Pedroia is dealing with a tiny hole in the middle of the knee and likely underwent an invasive procedure which involved utilizing cells from a cadaver to re-grow cartilage in the knee. That sort of surgery, according to one source with knowledge of the procedure, would restrict Pedroia from even running for a period of six months and require an eight-to-10 month rehab period, meaning Pedroia would a significant portion of the 2018 season.

In their release announcing the surgery, the Red Sox suggested that he could return to games  "in approximately seven months,'' which would target his return near the start of June.

The knee forced Pedroia into trips to the disabled list in 2017, separated by a single game in which Pedroia served as the DH at Tropicana Field, only to determine that the knee wasn't yet healthy. He played in just 105 games in 2017, the third-fewest games for him since 2007.

BSJ Analysis: With Pedroia sidelined for, at minimum, the first half of the season, the Red Sox will have to take steps to provide reliable depth at second base.

The team has both Brock Holt and Deven Marrero under control for 2018, but the former’s performance dipped considerably this past season and the latter, while a defensive standout, has yet to prove he can hit major league pitching enough to warrant regular playing time.

A more plausible – though far more costly - option would be to re-sign free agent Eduardo Nunez.

Nunez, of course, had his own knee injury in the latter half of the season and twice returned to play prematurely, only to be met with an aggravation of the injury. But further examination after he left Game 1 of the ALDS determined that the injury would not require surgical attention.

Beyond filling in for Pedroia – either as the starting second baseman in the event of the more invasive surgery, or providing a dependable second option as Pedroia manages the knee – Nunez could also prove valuable in filling in at shortstop and third base while taking some DH at-bats, too.

Nunez’s versatility would allow the Sox to make a multi-year commitment to him, knowing that he has the ability to play several infield positions and contribute offensively for several years to come.

It would make little sense for the Sox to pursue another second baseman via trade or free agency, since Pedroia is signed for another four seasons, with $56 million still due to him.

Entrusting either Holt or Marrero with the job would bring similar risks. Holt posted a .548 OPS this past season, a sharp decline from the previous three seasons when his lowest OPS was .705. There are also questions about what sort of impact a couple of concussions will have on Holt’s career going forward.

As for Marrero, while his glove is stellar, Marrero hasn’t established himself as a hitter. He performed well against lefties in limited playing time last season (.944 OPS in 55 at-bats), but overall, compiled a paltry .333 slugging percentage and .593 OPS.

Finally, another internal option could be Marco Hernandez. Hernandez had a strong spring training last year, but injured his shoulder in the first week of May and later underwent season-ending surgery. He's expected to be fully recovered by spring training, but again, doesn't have a lot of big league experience, having had a total of 109 at-bats over the last two seasons.