BOSTON -- Dustin Pedroia will not need another surgery this offseason for his problematic left knee, and the Red Sox are hopeful the second baseman will be ready for the start of the 2019 season.
"He has continued rehab and therapy, and that's what he is going to continue to do," said Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski. "He will do that through about the middle of December, and then get back into exercising, more physical activities other than the therapy at that point.
"And then sometime in January, he will start running at that point. So we're hopeful he'll be ready for the season."
Based on the latest information regarding Pedroia, Dombrowski isn't inclined to add another second baseman this winter to the defending World Series champions.
Ian Kinsler, who was acquired to fill in for Pedroia last July, is a free agent and isn't likely to return to Boston.
The Red Sox have Eduardo Nunez and Brock Holt to cover second base in the event that Pedroia suffers another setback.
Pedroia played in only three games in 2018 due to microfracture surgery and cartilage replacement in his left knee. After his short-lived comeback, Pedroia had an arthroscopic surgery on the same knee in July.
The longest-tenured member of the Red Sox, the 35-year-old Pedroia is due to make a total of $40 million over the next three seasons before his contract expires at the end of the 2021 season.