BOSTON -- Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia underwent a cartilage restoration procedure on his left knee on Wednesday and is likely to miss the first couple of months of the 2018 season.
The hope is that once Pedroia does return, he will be able to play without the discomfort that nagged him for the entirety of the '17 season.
The procedure was performed by Dr. Riley Williams III at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York. In a press release, the Red Sox said that "it is anticipated Pedroia would return to games in approximately seven months."
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Brock Holt, Deven Marrero, Marco Hernandez and Tzu-Wei Lin are among the internal options who could fill in for Pedroia.
The Red Sox might also now be more compelled to re-sign utility infielder Eduardo Nunez, who sparked the team after his acquisition in July until a right knee injury on Sept. 9 effectively ended his season.
Pedroia hoped he had fixed his left knee last offseason when he had surgery to repair a torn meniscus. But that procedure didn't provide the relief he was looking for.
From the start of '17, Pedroia's knee was a constant issue.
The veteran leader played through the pain as much as he could, but was on the disabled list twice after the All-Star break and played just one game between July 29-Aug. 31.
Limited to 105 games this season, Pedroia had a .293/.369/.392 slash line with seven homers and 62 RBIs.
The right-handed hitter was clearly hampered by a lack of strength in his leg down the stretch, hitting .242 with two doubles, one homer and eight RBIs in September. The Red Sox lost in four games to the Astros in the American League Division Series, with Pedroia going 2-for-16.
The 34-year-old Pedroia is Boston's longest-tenured player. When Pedroia returns to the field in '18, he will have an ex-teammate as his manager for the first time in Alex Cora.
Pedroia is the only holdover on the Red Sox from Cora's time as a player (2005-08) in Boston.