BOSTON — There is no timeline.
There is always a timeline.
Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia in Florida told The Athletic’s Jen McCaffrey that if all goes he well, he’s aiming to begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Pawtucket on May 12, ahead of a potential May 25 return to the majors. Pedroia underwent surgery on his left knee in October, and was expected to miss the first two months of the season.
Back at Fenway Park on Monday, Sox manager Alex Cora did not validate the specific schedule Pedroia offered.
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“How many days does May have, 31 days? Put May 32nd,” Cora joked. “We’ll see. It's a work in progress. Whenever he's ready, he'll be here.
Boston Red Sox
“He's in the beginning of the spring training process. He just played Boston College. Three innings and one at-bat. … People think it's only the knee, but now that he's moving around and doing all this stuff, it's all the soreness that comes into the equation. I think Jason [Varitek] always said you can workout all you want in the offseason and do everything, but you can't prepare for standing up for three hours in spikes.
“Now, that is part of his process. He's moving around, standing up the whole time, playing in games, hopefully more innings, obviously. There's going to be some soreness and we have to see how he reacts to it. Not only his knee, but obviously his hamstrings and everything. Like I told Pedey, I said, 'Pedey, man, when you get here it's full-go.' We'll have to be patient.”
Call it a flexible timeline, perhaps? A rough sketch, if you will? No matter the nomenclature, be it May 25 or May 32, Pedroia’s return appears roughly a month away — and in line with what was said when he went for the operation in the fall.
Perhaps Pedroia put the timeline out there as just another way to try to speed up his return, a lobbying effort, if you will.
“I didn't know he said that,” Cora said. “If he said that, well I will go check with [head athletic trainer Brad Pearson] and go from there. As of right now, I know he's working this week in Fort Myers."
