BOSTON -- With an eye toward a more productive 2018 season, Red Sox slugger Hanley Ramirez had an arthroscopy and debridement on his problematic left shoulder on Tuesday. The hope is that Ramirez will be back by Opening Day.
Left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez, however, is all but certain to open 2018 on the disabled list after undergoing a right knee patellofemoral ligament reconstruction. Rodriguez should be ready to pitch again in six months, but he will need a ramp-up period to rebuild his endurance.
Both surgeries were performed by Dr. James Andrews in Pensacola, Fla.
After a monster season in 2016, Ramirez's production dropped off in '17, as he posted a slash line of .242/320/.429 with 23 homers and 62 RBIs. He often had to take days out of the lineup to rest both of his shoulders.
Rodriguez hopes that the surgery will prevent him from the recurring knee injuries he had the past two seasons. On three occasions, Rodriguez suffered a subluxation of the patella tendon in his right knee.
In 11 appearancs (10 starts) before going on the disabled list with knee woes in June, Rodriguez was 4-2 with a 3.59 ERA. Following his return after the All-Star break, he was 2-5 with a 4.72 ERA in 14 starts and did not make the American League Division Series rotation.
The Red Sox could have more injury news in the coming days. Second baseman Dustin Pedroia is in the process of weighing his options after spending the entire 2017 season dealing with a left knee injury. If Pedroia undergoes surgery, it will likely be an extensive procedure that could force him to miss significant time.