Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia will likely undergo surgery after the season to repair the torn ligament in his left thumb, reports Rob Bradford of WEEI.
Dustin Pedroia injury: Red Sox 2B likely headed for offseason surgery
Pedroia has played all of 2013 will a torn UCL in his left thumb. He’s planning on getting it fixed after the postseason.
Jim Rogash
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Pedroia, 30, has been playing all season with a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his opposable digit, though you wouldn’t know it by looking at his numbers. The second baseman’s home run total has dipped some this year, but his overall production -- .298/.370/.415 in 157 games -- has been right in line with his career norms.
Much like with his broken finger last season and broken hamate bone back in 2007, Pedroia doesn’t seem very concerned about the injury at the moment:
“It’s going to be the same until it gets fixed,” he said. “So I’m going to play and then they’ll fix it...
“There were some parts of [the ‘13 season] that were tough, but the main thing is to try and be out there and do what I can. That’s how I look at it.”
While a UCL tear in the elbow typically requires Tommy John surgery and six months of recovery (for position players), a tear in the thumb is much less problematic. The recovery time after operation is estimated at eight weeks, which should give Pedroia plenty of time to be ready to go by beginning of spring training.
Pedroia has helped lead Boston to a 95-63 on the year, currently the best record in baseball. The Red Sox have clinched their spot in the division series, where -- if they hang on to the best record -- they will take on the winner of the Wild Card play-in game.
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