McAdam: On Dustin Pedroia's latest setback and other Red Sox thoughts

The Red Sox are in-between series Monday before hosting Colorado for a two-game interleague series Thursday.

In the meantime, here are three thoughts on the team

1. Dustin Pedroia's rehab assignment halted

Pedroia was supposed to be in the middle of playing three games in a row for the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs. Instead, Pedroia had his assignment ended by the Red Sox Monday afternoon.

When Pedroia spoke with manager Alex Cora Sunday morning, Pedroia told the manager that he was ready and able to play Sunday afternoon, but that was washed away by rain in Trenton. Pedroia then returned to Boston Sunday night and was examined Monday morning by the Red Sox medical staff.

One baseball source indicated that the move was not necessarily linked to any major concern over Pedroia's knee, but more tied to timing. Pedroia had already burned through 12 days of the 20 days allotted for position player rehab assignments, and with some scheduled off-days and Sunday's rainout, he had already lost valuable time.

Recalling him from his assignment and giving him recovery time will enable the Sox and Pedroia to restart the clock on a fresh 20-day assignment as early as later this week.

But the fact that Pedroia was unable to play a third game in the span of four days is hardly encouraging.

At some point -- maybe soon -- Pedroia may have to face facts and acknowledge his baseball mortality.

Here are the cold numbers: of the last 203 regular season games, Pedroia has played in exactly nine, or less than five percent. And we now know that Pedroia's not about to contribute at the big league level anytime soon since, even in a best-case scenario since that will require additional rest and treatment, then the start of another minor league assignment.

It's not my call to tell someone to stop doing what they do for a living. Only Pedroia and his family can make that decision.

But with each passing day, it sure is getting harder to imagine Pedroia resuming his major league career -- and that's sad.

2. Could Steve Pearce's roster spot be in jeopardy?

Pearce is off to a brutal start, slashing .117/.185/.150, striking out 40 percent of his at-bats and producing just two extra-base hits in 60 at-bats.

Initially, this could be attributed to Pearce having missed some time in spring training -- first, with a bug, then later with a calf strain. He didn't have the usual amount of at-bats and a slow start to the regular season could have almost been forecast.

But we're nearly seven weeks into the season and Pearce hasn't come close to locking in at the plate. And the Sox are having trouble the same trouble against lefties (their OPS of .742 ranks them 15th in baseball) that they had in the first half of last year -- ironically enough, prompting them to trade for Pearce.

It's worth noting that while Pearce was an invaluable part of the 2018 Red Sox, topped by his World Series MVP award, he's been a journeyman role player for the vast majority of his career. Now that he's 36, it wouldn't be unprecedented for him to have lost something at the plate.

At some point, Brock Holt will return to the major league roster. Trimming the 13th pitcher from the staff will create a roster opening. But at some point, the Sox may want to go back to carrying an extra arm in the bullpen. Less likely, but not to be ruled out, Pedroia could have a successful rehab assignment and return to claim a spot on the major league roster.

Could the Sox gamble that Michael Chavis could be a more versatile, younger version of Pearce? Pearce might have only another couple of weeks to put that thought out of the minds of the decision-makers.

3. Something has gotten into Christian Vazquez

Maybe it was the demotion of Sandy Leon at the start of the season, a clear indication that Vazquez was the choice to be the team's No. 1 catcher this season. Or maybe it was the trade which shipped Blake Swihart to Arizona, wiping out the narrative that Swihart was destined to become the Red Sox' catcher of the future.

Whatever it is, the Red Sox will gladly take it. Vazquez has multi-hit games in four of the past five games and has lifted his average to .278 and his OPS is more-than-respectable .821. He already has matched his season high in homers (five) with just a quarter of the season played.

And while his receiving got sloppy at times last year, he's been sharper and more focused this season. Even his ability to control the running game has improved, with his caught-stealing percentage at 43 percent (6-of-14) improved over last year (37 percent).

Vazquez has credited a quieter approach at the plate -- he no longer double-taps his front foot as part of his load -- for his offensive improvement. Instead of getting pull happy, he's been using the entire field often shooting balls into right.

If nothing else, Vazquez is providing some offense in the bottom two spots of the order. Last year, with little from the catching position and nothing from Jackie Bradley Jr. until late June, the bottom of the Boston lineup was a sinkhole. Vazquez's bat has stopped that from being the reality again.

Then again, it may be nothing more than Vazquez finally blossoming. Catchers traditionally take longer to develop and at 28, perhaps that time is finally here.