The Boston Red Sox suffered a scare with Dustin Pedroia, but it appears there’s not much to fear long-term. Pedroia left during the second inning of Wednesday’s loss to the New York Yankees after feeling a pop in his knee. He played just three games last season due to surgery on that left knee in the fall of 2017. Because of that, many worried that Pedroia, who has played just six contests this season, would be sidelined for an extended period of time. The 35-year-old was placed on the 10-day injured list Thursday night, and Tzu-Wei Lin was called up to take his place. Pedroia currently is with the team in Florida, and prior to Friday’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays, he gave an encouraging update on himself, indicating he doesn’t expect to be out of action long. Dustin Pedroia hopes to return to game action soon despite another appearance on the Injury List. #redsox #BOSvsTB https://t.co/CRukEiNRjn pic.twitter.com/TSG05vo4Cn — NESN (@NESN) April 19, 2019 With Eduardo Nunez and Brock Holt also on the IL, Lin is about to play a huge role for the Red Sox. And though he is well-positioned to perform well in Pedroia’s absence, the veteran infielder’s return certainly will be a much-anticipated one. Thumbnail photo via Jasen Vinlove/USA TODAY Sports Images<doc-sep>ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Dustin Pedroia didn’t know what to think when he felt something in his surgically-repaired left knee pop during a foul ball at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday night. He told manager Alex Cora what happened. Cora heard the word “pop” and immediately feared the worst. Was this the end of Pedroia’s career? Related Articles Dustin Pedroia goes on the injured list with non-dire diagnosis of ‘irritation’ in his left knee Dustin Pedroia re-injures left knee, leaving return to action in much uncertainty “The way he reacted that day, I was like, ‘oh, this is it right here,’” Cora said Friday afternoon before the Red Sox’ game with the Rays. “But we got some positive news.” While in New York this week, Pedroia met with doctors — not the same surgeon who originally operated on his knee, he said — and was told that it’s not a serious issue. Pedroia said he’s hoping to be back after the 10-day minimum on the injured list. “Yeah I was nervous,” he said. “It was good news. The best I could get…I was a little upset, man. I’ve been through a lot. It’s fun being out there and playing. I shouldn’t be taking swings and feeling that. It was just a weird freak thing. I’m kind of over those freak things. I just want to get out there and play and help us win. Hopefully that’s coming.” The freak thing this time, Pedroia said, was that his cleat got caught in the dirt as his body torqued on a foul ball, but his knee never torqued, thus the pop sensation he felt. “More kind of scared me than anything,” he said. “So I saw the doctor yesterday and it could’ve been a couple of things. We’re going to let it calm down for a few days and it should be all right. It just twisted the wrong way. Sometimes the batter’s box is real tacky.” Pedroia said he’s trying to find a new brace to wear that doesn’t restrict his knee so much and gives him more flexibility when swinging. This setback is nothing like the one he had last May, when he played just three games and then was finished for the season. “No it’s not like last year,” he said. “This was just one thing. I just got stuck and torqued on it and my spike didn’t even move. It was just a freak deal. We’ll figure it out.” The Red Sox will be careful with him as he recovers this time, but feel like the veteran second baseman will back soon. “Yes it was a relief,” said president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski. “I really didn’t know what it took place when he left the game and when I went back down he was gone. Nobody had known what had taken place at that point. You get concerned based on as many things as he’s had taken place with him. Then we met with him last night when he got back face to face…You could tell he was relieved. Felt much better. He was irritated but the fear was it could’ve been worse.” Pedroia was 2-for-20 but only struck out twice, a sign that he was seeing the ball OK but wasn’t making enough quality contact. A minor league rehab assignment hasn’t been ruled out this time around, though the Sox haven’t made that decision yet. “Now it’s a matter of seeing how he reacts in a week, go through the same trail with the workload, all that,” Cora said. “Whenever he’s ready, he’s ready. When he said something popped in my knee and the way he was in the clubhouse, I was thinking the worst. But we got some good news. We’ll go from there.” Pedroia couldn’t hide his good mood on Friday but is already desperate to get back in the lineup. “I know we haven’t played good at all,” he said. “I know everyone says, ‘oh it’s early,’ and all that. But we have to find a way to be good and get back after it. It takes everybody to do that.”<doc-sep>
The hits just keep coming for the Red Sox. Just a day after they placed Dustin Pedroia and Eduardo Núñez on the injured list, now one of their top pitchers will join them. In what could prove to be a big blow to their rotation, the team announced prior to Saturday’s game in Tampa Bay that starter Nathan Eovaldi has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a lose body in his elbow. Lefty Bobby Poyner will come up to join the bullpen to take Eovaldi’s roster spot. The #RedSox today placed RHP Nathan Eovaldi on the 10-day injured list with a loose body in the right elbow, retroactive to April 18. To fill Eovaldi’s spot on the active 25-man roster, the club recalled LHP Bobby Poyner from Triple-A Pawtucket. — Boston Red Sox (@RedSox) April 20, 2019 This one came out of nowhere as Eovaldi looked stellar in his last outing in New York. Obviously injuries can always come out of nowhere and we never really know what’s going on with any pitcher, but there were certainly no signs of injury earlier in the week. This is not the first time Eovaldi has dealt with this kind of ailment, either, as he had to overcome this last season with the Rays. The injury delayed the start of his 2018, though he was healthy the rest of the year. As of this writing, there is no timetable for this injury. Having just signed him to a four-year deal it seems logical that the Red Sox won’t pus him to return too soon, though. That’s the right play long-term, but it could be painful in the short-term. For now, it seems all but certain Hector Velázquez will join the rotation. That role will suit him fine if this is just a few turns through the rotation at most, but anything more than that could leave him exposed. I would seriously consider giving Mike Shawaryn a call from Pawtucket if this is going to be a longer-term injury. If it’s a very long-term, as in most of the rest of the year, it’s worth remembering Dallas Keuchel is still a free agent. For now, though, it’s all speculation until we learn more, as timetables can vary for this kind of injury.