Pedroia

Count Dustin Pedroia among the players delighted that Mike Lowell is returning.

Pedroia, the A.L. Rookie of the Year, was in contact with Lowell via text messages after the players returned home from the World Series celebrations.

He said the subject of Lowell’s future didn’t come up in their conversations, but his feelings on the matter were clear . . . as evidenced by his half-joking comment over the weekend that he was going to call Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein and tell him to hurry up and get the deal done.

“[Lowell had] to make the right decision for what’s best for him,” said Pedroia. “[He] earned the right to be a free agent, but obviously we [wanted] him back. He was the biggest part of our team last year.”

Pedroia, who struggled over the first month of the season before finding his stroke in May, has said all along that he wouldn’t have had the type of season he did if it were not for the help and support of Lowell and fellow infielder Alex Cora.

Pedroia, who had surgery to remove his hamate bone in his left hand two weeks ago, had the cast removed on Friday. He said his hand is still a little stiff, but that he’ll be 100 percent ready for spring training.

—JOE McDONALD