Mazz: Trade Pedey. Me: No way.

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Conor Frederick (@C_Frederick1016)
Contributing Writer

Tony Masseroti penned an article on Boston.com in favor of starting Mookie Betts at 2nd base and entertaining offers for beloved current 2nd baseman, Dustin Pedroia. Mazz points to the logjam in the outfield as the main reason for trading Pedroia.

In a certain light, he MAYBE has a point. Mookie Betts is making himself indispensable, with a line of 284/.358/.474 as of writing this, so trading him is off the table. Pedroia's slugging percentage has dropped in the last 4 years and he's not getting any younger. which you could point out as a reason to trade him while his value is still high. That, in a nutshell is why Mazz is trying to say trade Pedroia now.

Aside from the riots that would happen in Red Sox Nation if this were to happen, what about his practical value? As Mazz himself points out, Pedroia has been swinging the bat well. Not to mention he's a competitor and he grinds it out every day, which is why he's become a fan favorite.

Over the last several weeks, Pedroia has admittedly started to look more like his younger self. In his last 33 games, he has batted .314 with a .423 slugging percentage and .771 OPS. He remains a gritty competitor and an excellent defensive player, and his current deal hardly makes him a financial burden for a team with one of the biggest payrolls in the game.

Not to mention he has a .992 career fielding percentage and a 3-time Gold Glover. 3-time Gold Glovers are hard to replace. Mookie Betts is good, but is he a viable defensive replacement for Pedey? Possible, but I'm not sold. I know he was originally a 2nd baseman who converted to outfield to reach the big leagues faster, but I'd have to see it before I would say "Ok, I trust you to replace Dustin Pedroia."

And Pedey is the co-face of the franchise with David Ortiz, and he'll take sole possesion of "Face of the Red Sox" honors when Ortiz retires. He is the de facto captain of the Sox. All he's really missing is the "C" on his uniform. Stats aside, is there anyone on the roster who could fill the leadership void if Pedey is traded? Maybe someone like Brock Holt eventually could, but if the Red Sox traded Pedey after this season, I doubt anyone, minus Ortiz (38) could step in and say "I'm going to be the leader."

So no, Mazz, trading Pedey shouldn't be a realistic option for the Sox.