WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Boston expects second baseman Dustin Pedroia to make his exhibition debut on Thursday against Minnesota.
Coming off knee surgery, the 35-year-old Pedroia crossed his last major pre-competition hurdle on Tuesday when he completed a workout at the Red Sox complex in Fort Myers.
"The way the texts sounded, he's ready to play now," Cora said after receiving an update from Pedroia.
A four-time All-Star and the 2008 AL MVP, Pedroia had left knee surgery on Oct. 25, 2017. He played in five injury rehabilitation games at Triple-A Pawtucket from May 14 to May 24 and three games for the Red Sox from May 26 to May 29, then went back on the disabled list for the rest of the season.
Boston has not expressed firm expectations.
"Right now I think it's more hope," Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said. "So far he's been very healthy under his situation coming back. He's passed all the tests from the medical team and from himself."
Pedrioa played in more than 105 games only once in the past four seasons because of injuries.
Eduardo Nunez and Brock Holt have been the primary second basemen in Pedroia's absence.