Longtime Boston Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia announced his retirement after 14 seasons in the Majors. He had one year remaining on his contract, but hardly played the past three seasons due to multiple knee injuries that required surgery.
Pedroia was a second-round pick by the Red Sox in the 2004 MLB Draft. He made his debut two years later and soon became an integral part of Boston’s lineup.
Pedroia won American League Rookie of the Year honors in 2007 and helped the Red Sox win the World Series that year. He took home MVP honors the following season, as well as his first career Gold Glove Award and Silver Slugger.
Several players have taken to social media to congratulate Pedroia on his retirement, including Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts, who spent the first six seasons of his career with the Red Sox.
Betts and Pedroia not only were teammates for six seasons, but they also won a World Series together in 2018. Pedroia appeared in just three games that year, while Betts earned MVP honors and the batting title.
Prior to his knee trouble, Pedroia enjoyed a long stretch as one of the best second basemen in all of baseball. From 2008-10, he was selected to three consecutive All-Star Games, led the league in runs scored twice and amassed 15.7 WAR.
Pedroia enjoyed arguably his best season in 2011, when he hit .307/.387/.474 with 37 doubles, a career-high 21 home runs, 91 RBI, 26 stolen bases and 8.0 WAR across 159 games.
For his career, Pedroia batted .299/.365/.439 with 394 doubles, 140 home runs and 725 RBI in 6,777 plate appearances (1,512 games). His 51.6 WAR is good for 10th in Red Sox history.
Red Sox sign Kiké Hernandez
Looking to add stability to the second base position, the Red Sox signed former Dodgers utility man Kiké Hernandez to a multi-year contract.
In 48 games last season, Hernandez saw time at six different positions while hitting .230/.270/.410 with eight doubles, five home runs and 20 RBI over 148 plate appearances.
Even while filling a utility role for the bulk of the past six seasons with the Dodgers, the 29-year-old appeared in at least 100 games in four years, including three of at least 130 games.
Hernandez now will have an opportunity to become an everyday player with the Red Sox and reunites with Alex Verdugo, who was sent to Boston in the Betts trade last year.
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