The Boston Red Sox will be missing the services of second baseman Dustin Pedroia after he was placed on the 15-day disabled list (DL) again last Saturday with a right hamstring strain.
Before the current re-assignment to the DL, Pedroia had been placed on the list because of the same injury and missed 16 games before making his return after the All-Star break.
In his return, the 31-year-old athlete was not that productive for the Red Sox as his batting average went down to .287 from .306 after going 1-for-22.
"I'm upset. I feel a lot better, which is a great sign, so that means it's healing. It just needs a little more time," the four-time All-Star said following Saturday's loss, according to ESPN.
Pedroia added, "It's kind of the same thing as before. It takes a long time for these things to heal. I think we're all trying to take the quickest time possible and come back and give us a boost. Tried that, played for a little bit, got black and blue, so we did the smart thing and got it looked at and go from there."
Red Sox manager John Farrell agreed with Pedroia saying that the 2008 American League's Most Valuable Player (MVP) needs time to fully overcome the injury.
According to ESPN, Pedroia was given clearance to return in time for their last series before the All-Star break after originally sustaining the injury last month against the Baltimore Orioles.
But the Red Sox decided to give him more rest to heal, suspending his return until the second half of the season.
Unlike other players coming from injury, Pedroia played straight to the majors in his return and was not assigned to the minor league.
"I don't know if a rehab assignment would've changed anything," Farrell said according to ESPN.
He added that Pedroia was cleared to play because they believed he was not going to risk any injury but according to him it is "persisting" and his second baseman needs some downtime.
