Pedroia is 32 and hasn't been healthy this decade. He's my favorite player, but I think the Red Sox need to have a plan in place to reduce wear on his body.Savin Hillbilly said:
That would be a valid argument if we needed a 2B now. But we don't, and unless things go very wrong very fast, we won't need one until it's been a pretty long time since Betts played 2B.
From an earlier thread, here's Pedroia's MLB track record:
2007: Broken hamate (surgery after season)
2008: No surgery or DL
2009: No surgery or DL
2010: Broken bone in foot (surgery during season); DL
2011: Foot continued (surgery at end of season)
2012: Broken finger (surgery after season); DL
2013: Torn UCL (surgery after season)
2014: Hand/wrist (surgery after season)
2015: Knee/hamstring; DL
If JBJ and Castillo can stick, LF is the likely open slot, which may not be the best use of Betts' defensive abilities 81 games a year. Perhaps in seeing the bumps Xander encountered in his first full season, the Sox wanted to give Betts positional consistency in 2015. With a new front office in place now, one has to wonder if they'll view Betts as an OFer of the future or plan to shift him back to the infield before he reaches his prime.