Pedroia Undergoes Surgery on Knee

paulb0t

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I'd rather risk getting little to no value out of Pedroia in 2018 and having him come back as a semblance of his old self for 2019 and beyond than having him continue to break down year after year.

I really hope the FO figures out a way to bring back Nunez (or a similar good player with IF flexibility – Brock Holt shouldn't be the contingency plan).
 

Harry Hooper

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Too bad Rusney's days as an infielder are over. He might have been a Nunez-ish option in-house.
 

Valek123

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Likely a dumb question, but isn't the smart move to move Mookie back to 2nd and get another outfield bat as it's easier to get a big bat in the OF?
 

Papelbon's Poutine

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If they're going to go over threshold - which I don't think they want to, but might not be avoidable - they could probably have Kinsler for free, essentially. Tigers are on the hook for a $5M buyout on his club option which is $10M.
 

johnnywayback

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Is it worth giving Chavis a look? Guessing he's probably not quite ready.
Not ready, and also not really a second baseman given the defensive limitations he's shown so far.

I wonder if Asdrubal Cabrera might be an option -- the Mets just picked up his $8.5m option but have Amed Rosario ready to come up and play some IF.
 

absintheofmalaise

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Likely a dumb question, but isn't the smart move to move Mookie back to 2nd and get another outfield bat as it's easier to get a big bat in the OF?
No. Betts is the best defensive outfielder in baseball using either DRS (31) or UZR (20.5) or your eyes. And that's with half of his games in what is arguably the toughest right field in baseball.
 

plucy

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a rock and a hard place
If they're going to go over threshold - which I don't think they want to, but might not be avoidable - they could probably have Kinsler for free, essentially. Tigers are on the hook for a $5M buyout on his club option which is $10M.
I was about to post on the Kinsler situation. What type of prospect would the Sox need to give up to get DET to eat the $5mm?
At an age when 2B start to fall off the cliff, Kinsler showed good pop, above average fielding, but a depressed BABIP. I'd rather the team goes for experience than run through the Holt/Marrero/Hernandez/Rutledge, or whoever survives non tendering, porridge to replace him.
 

StuckOnYouk

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Did the machado slide create a new injury or just aggravate an existing one?
I guess I’m asking if the machado slide doesn’t happen is Pedroia 100% right now or would he still be 80% even without the slide?
 

Papelbon's Poutine

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I was about to post on the Kinsler situation. What type of prospect would the Sox need to give up to get DET to eat the $5mm?
At an age when 2B start to fall off the cliff, Kinsler showed good pop, above average fielding, but a depressed BABIP. I'd rather the team goes for experience than run through the Holt/Marrero/Hernandez/Rutledge, or whoever survives non tendering, porridge to replace him.
After further looking on Cots, his option vested via PAs, so Detroit is on the hook for the full $10M. Considering how little they dumped JD Martinez for, they may be willing to eat salary or trade him for the proverbial bag of balls. If the Sox are ok going over (or can't avoid it), just take him.
 

E5 Yaz

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Likely a dumb question, but isn't the smart move to move Mookie back to 2nd and get another outfield bat as it's easier to get a big bat in the OF?
So Machado can take him out, too?
 

ehaz

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I'd love to see an Utley/Kendrick platoon. Kendrick can simultaneously be the Chris Young replacement and spell Devers at 3rd. Utley, at 39, still produced league average offense with solid defense at second. You also fill a leadership void with a future Hall of Famer that has one (perhaps 2) rings. You can comfortably put him at DH against some righties to give Hanley a day off and start Holt at second.
 

E5 Yaz

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I'd love to see an Utley/Kendrick platoon. Kendrick can simultaneously be the Chris Young replacement and spell Devers at 3rd. Utley, at 39, still produced league average offense with solid defense at second. You also fill a leadership void with a future Hall of Famer that has one (perhaps 2) rings. You can comfortably put him at DH against some righties to give Hanley a day off and start Holt at second.
There are so many parts to this post that would lead the board into side-arguments and tangents, that I won't respond individually to any of them ... except to say that I disagree with all of it.
 

simplicio

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Do we know anything about the health of Nunez' knee? Replacing busted players with other busted players is so 2017.

Speaking of which, when is Marco Hernandez due back?
 

TomBrunansky23

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I'm not as down on this as some of you are. If I read DRS' blog correctly the best and only shot to get Pedroia back to a semblance of the player he used to be was to undergo this procedure. The player is still under contract for four years. If we can find a reasonable stopgap for the first half of 2018, what's to say that a now healthy Petey can't be a contributor in the second half of 2018 and down the stretch?

I'd rather he have this done now that some kind of maintenance thing like getting scoped, injected or draining the knee every so often in the hopes he can be serviceable. That seemed to be the approach in the second half of this year and the results weren't great.
 

Plympton91

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No. Betts is the best defensive outfielder in baseball using either DRS (31) or UZR (20.5) or your eyes. And that's with half of his games in what is arguably the toughest right field in baseball.
You misspelled "because." Those are counting stats. The deep right field gives him more opportunities than other right fielders to accumulate "points."

Article says Pedroia could return to games in June. Makes him an early deadline acquisition. I'd say platoon Marerro and Holt/Lin for the first two months. That will also let you see how much a Marerro/Lin platoon can get to Bogaerts as he gets expensive.
 

AB in DC

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Marrero at 2B should be a fallback at at best. By the time April gets here, we may be begging the Sox to give Marrero more time at 3B so that Devers and his erratic arm can DH more often.
 

nvalvo

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No. Betts is the best defensive outfielder in baseball using either DRS (31) or UZR (20.5) or your eyes. And that's with half of his games in what is arguably the toughest right field in baseball.
(The huge outfield is what makes it possible for him to post those crazy numbers. Lots of balls in play. This isn’t to take anything away; he made the catches.)

If we’re signing JD Martinez as a LF/DH, I would like to at least consider Betts at 2B for a few months.

Start the season with Betts at 2B, Martinez mostly in LF, Benintendi in CF and Bradley in RF. When/if Pedroia returns mid-season, Betts goes back to OF and Martinez mostly to DH.

Hanley’s role fluctuates with health and performance.

You consider this only if Betts feels good about it. Other teams have moved young stars (Machado, Bregman) in similar situations.

We need a bat; I’d hate to spend a big chunk of our financial flexibility on Kinsler or equivalent with Pedroia returning mid-season.
 

Minneapolis Millers

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Last we heard, I think, Nunez does not need surgery. However, it's at least possible that the injury dampens his market, making him more available to be resigned by us, perhaps even amenable to a short get healthy/play well deal. That would be ideal.

Otherwise, I'd guess they'll throw Lin/Marrero/Hernandez (should be rehabbed by spring) into the hopper and see what sticks until Pedey comes back. I think someone like Kinsler would become an option only midseason, if Pedroia has complications.
 

Van Everyman

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By the time April gets here, we may be begging the Sox to give Marrero more time at 3B so that Devers and his erratic arm can DH more often.
Can we give Devers a chance to turn 21 before we talk about him as if he's Dave Kingman? The kid was unbelievable with the bat in his first cup of coffee with the big club. Assuming Butterfield is back with the team, he will have a full offseason to work on his fielding and throwing mechanics.
 

E5 Yaz

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And certainly a contributing factor to the Sox exiting the playoffs in the first round the past two years. Key reason why it was time for Farrell to go.
Injuries are a group decision -- medical staff, administration, player, player's agent, even family. The concept of a manager forcing an injured player to play is bizarre. Farrell managed those situations in consultation with administration and medical, but to cite this as a reason he needed to be fired is woefully uninformed
 

MikeM

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Lowrie wouldn't be a bad option if we can't sign Nunez/he's not healthy.
Nunez probably ends up costing too much $$$ for what you actually end up paying for (post-career year), and I ultimately can't see the sell to either him or Lowrie without a permanent full time spot to offer.

Kinsler probably works as a default fit if/when we don't win the JD Martinez sweepstakes.
 

Bob Montgomerys Helmet Hat

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Given the way Pedroia plays and how he invariably wears down, having him fresh and with a fixed knee in June could be a very good thing.
I don't think the answer is someone like Kinsler, but rather a very good utility guy, who could also give Devers and Boagaerts some rest once Pedey returns. Depending on the price, it really could be a great fit for Nunez.
 

JimBoSox9

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Injuries are a group decision -- medical staff, administration, player, player's agent, even family. The concept of a manager forcing an injured player to play is bizarre. Farrell managed those situations in consultation with administration and medical, but to cite this as a reason he needed to be fired is woefully uninformed
You're obviously much more right than wrong, but doesn't the buck have to stop somewhere in terms of making sure that group decision-making produces the best outcomes that luck will allow? The empirical argument that the Sox have been below-average here holds some weight; who else of equal or greater rank outght to be held accountable? It's a small, speculative demerit compared to other Farrell flaws, but not totally off base either.
 

Tyrone Biggums

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Nunez probably ends up costing too much $$$ for what you actually end up paying for (post-career year), and I ultimately can't see the sell to either him or Lowrie without a permanent full time spot to offer.

Kinsler probably works as a default fit if/when we don't win the JD Martinez sweepstakes.
No thanks to Lowrie. He'd be out half the season with a shoulder injury from signing the contract. Nunez probably makes the most sense on a "pillow" deal.
 

Papelbon's Poutine

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You're obviously much more right than wrong, but doesn't the buck have to stop somewhere in terms of making sure that group decision-making produces the best outcomes that luck will allow? The empirical argument that the Sox have been below-average here holds some weight; who else of equal or greater rank outght to be held accountable? It's a small, speculative demerit compared to other Farrell flaws, but not totally off base either.
Yeah, this is where I am. Especially with Pedroia who we know tries to play through everything, at some point the guy filling out the lineup card has to make a call if it's best for the team or a player's ego. Certainly far down on theist of complaints about Farrell, but I think it merits being listed.
 

streeter88

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Injuries are a group decision -- medical staff, administration, player, player's agent, even family. The concept of a manager forcing an injured player to play is bizarre. Farrell managed those situations in consultation with administration and medical, but to cite this as a reason he needed to be fired is woefully uninformed
Let me rephrase and explain where I was coming from. I understand that injuries are watched carefully by the entire Red Sox management, staff, agents, etc. And nobody is forcing anybody to play. But isn't that the problem -- shouldn't a good administration (and manager) be asking players to sit when they need to?

Watching this past year, there were multiple occasions where the injured player just did not sit enough to give him a chance to adequately recover. The list is not short - Moreland, Bogaerts, Betts, Hanley. When I went back and looked at the game logs in June and July when several of those injuries occurred, at least Bogaerts and Moreland continued to play almost every day. I even read that Moreland in particular earned significant respect for playing through his injury. That's great, except that he was objectively terrible in July, as was Bogaerts.

Maybe nvalvo's approach is the better one here -- that the organisation as a whole bears responsibility for this. Or maybe JBS9 is right that the buck should stop with the manager. But something needs to change, because it didn't work this past year -- at least if the goal is a significant playoff run.

Edit: or what Paps said.
 

Imbricus

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Anyone see what kind of "cartilage restoration procedure" he had done, like ACI or? Curious as to what the success rates look like. I've read into knee surgeries some, and generally, the outcomes aren't really great.
 

snowmanny

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Yeah, this is where I am. Especially with Pedroia who we know tries to play through everything, at some point the guy filling out the lineup card has to make a call if it's best for the team or a player's ego. Certainly far down on theist of complaints about Farrell, but I think it merits being listed.
Well under Francona Pedroia missed two months, played two games, then was done for the season. (Ed: 2010.)
 

The Mort Report

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No thanks to Lowrie. He'd be out half the season with a shoulder injury from signing the contract. Nunez probably makes the most sense on a "pillow" deal.
Then he’s perfect. Just have to hope it’s the second half of the year when he dislocates his shoulder shaking Pedroia’s hand to welcome him back
 

snowmanny

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Pedroia playing when he should be shut down may be a Pedroia problem, a medical staff problem, or an organizational problem. It's nothing unique to Farrell.