BOSTON -- Dustin Pedroia is adamant that he will make a full recovery from the left knee surgery that has kept him out of all but three games this season.
What he won't do anymore is set timetables.
Pedroia, who is headed home to Arizona to complete his rehab, is all-in on getting his knee completely healthy. He hopes it leads to a return for the team that currently has the best record in baseball, but he makes no guarantees.
"Just have to let it heal," Pedroia said. "If I get this thing MRI'd in four or five weeks and it's fully healed, then I will play this year. If I get an MRI in four or five weeks and it's three-quarters of the way healed, then I probably won't. I can't do anything about time."
There are 11 weeks left in the regular season, and perhaps a few more weeks of postseason play after that.
Pedroia said he thought he was healed enough to play when he was activated on May 25, but quickly learned that his entire left leg wasn't sturdy enough to play baseball every day.
"Mentally, it's been a grind because you put in all the work and things like that, and some things you can't control," Pedroia said. "I can control being strong and things like that, but I can't do anything about healing a bone that's transplanted in me. Everything has to incorporate all the way for everything to be pain-free and allow me to load weight on it consistently.
"I was strong enough to do it for a short period of time, but the everyday repetition after this surgery demands high intensity, and it just needs to be healed fully to do that."
The challenging part of Pedroia's initial comeback was that no position player had ever gone through a microfracture surgery and cartilage restoration procedure, so there was no benchmark.
"When everyone wanted me to have this surgery, it was to not only be healthy the rest of my career, but the rest of my life. It's something that I have to let heal and then build up," Pedroia said. "We did a great job with strengthening, things like that. I was able to play games and feel great, but it just wasn't healed all the way, and we have to let it happen.
"Like [manager] Alex [Cora] said, there's no timetable. I can't control how the human body heals," Pedroia said. "I would love to. I would love to play right now. But that's not really [possible]. I can't. So, once everything heals permanently and we checked that with MRIs and everything -- how I'm progressing -- and once that happens, and I maintain my strength and keep working hard at that, it shouldn't be long. So, hopefully I just heal fast."
In Pedroia's absence, the Red Sox have built a 64-29 record and a 3 1/2-game lead in the American League East entering Wednesday. Eduardo Nunez and Brock Holt have held down second base in his absence.
"I mean, I'm disappointed I'm not playing now. That's a part of it. Can't do anything else, you know what I mean? I'll watch every pitch," Pedroia said. "I'm in every pitch with the guys. It's a lot easier going through it when we're 50 games over .500 or whatever we are. So that's the good part. That's the great thing, is we're playing great. Just sit back and watch the guys rake and pitch well and play great defense and continue rolling."
Brasier could be a find for Sox
When the Red Sox signed Ryan Brasier to a Minor League contract that didn't include an invitation to Spring Training back on March 2, few people even heard about the transaction. So when the right-hander was recalled from Triple-A Pawtucket on Sunday, many fans didn't know who he was.
The story is worth following. Brasier, a sixth-round Draft pick of the Angels in 2007, made his MLB debut in 2013, pitching seven games. Shortly after that, he underwent Tommy John surgery and didn't make it back to the mound in a Major League game until this week.
Between stints in the Majors, Brasier pitched in Oakland's farm system for two years, and also for Hiroshima in Japan last year.
Brasier closed out a 5-0 win over the Rangers on Monday and an 8-4 win on Tuesday, lighting up the radar gun in the process.
As a Minor League extra, Brasier led the Red Sox in saves back in Spring Training, closing out all three of his opportunities.

His entry Monday led to a humorous moment in the dugout.
"Two days ago, he comes in in the ninth inning and I turn around to the dugout and I say, 'You guys don't know who this guy is,' because they don't," Cora said. "In Spring Training, they don't stay, they leave in the fifth inning. So I'm like, 'You guys have no idea who this guy is, but I tell you what, he was my closer and you'll be surprised.'
"First pitch was 98 and you've got to see the faces of David Price, Chris Sale, all those guys are like, 'What?' 97, 98, 97, 98. Yesterday he throws 100, I think. Well it shows 100 up there [on the scoreboard] and [Rafael] Devers is at third base like, 'Oh my God.'
"He's a good pitcher and he's going to contribute."