"All we did was win," Pedroia said Monday. "It was the same bunch of players, same everything."

He won Rookie of the Year and an MVP, made three All-Star teams, and earned two Gold Gloves. He played for one manager in Terry Francona and one general manager, Theo Epstein.

FORT MYERS, Fla. — The Red Sox averaged 93 wins through Dustin Pedroia's first five full seasons in the majors and advanced to the playoffs three times.

In the four years since, the Red Sox have averaged 79 wins and made the playoffs once. There has been constant turnover on the roster, on the coaching staff, and within the front office.


Pedroia has not been the same, either. He's no longer a perennial All-Star, his talents sapped by injuries and the frustration of losing. The team's 2013 World Series championship was only a brief flashback to better times. That team was dismantled within months, the Sox changing philosophies on the fly with a series of puzzling decisions.

Now, finally, Pedroia sees the Red Sox back on a path that should lead to contending over a period of time. He was heartened by the improvements president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski made to the pitching staff and considers right fielder Mookie Betts, shortstop Xander Bogaerts, catcher Blake Swihart, and lefthander Eduardo Rodriguez to be building blocks.

"The more you have a core group together, the more you're going to win," Pedroia said. "That's just a fact. I had what these guys are going through early in my career. It helps. You can figure out how to win together. They haven't done that yet."

Because he is signed through 2021, the future matters dearly to Pedroia.

"We have the pieces," he said. "It's a matter of playing well. It's time to win again. With all these young guys we have, their mind-set is in the right place. Everyone is going in the right direction."


The immediate concern is this season. Pedroia appears quicker defensively, something he grudgingly admitted to. An offseason spent working more on athleticism than strength served him well.

"I want to be able to do anything," he said. "I feel good. It's not that I really lost weight. I just trained a little differently."

Beyond his own preparations, Pedroia will spend spring training working with new first baseman Hanley Ramirez. It's more a matter of communication than anything else, and Pedroia is not afraid to make his preferences known.

"That's everything with defense — knowing what the other guy will do," he said. "We'll be good when the games start. We'll be able to communicate.

"I told him it's OK to mess up in these games now. I don't really care. I have to know how much range he has. I have to know everything.

"Now is the time to take risks. If you mess up, that's fine. This is why we're here. If I find out he has more range, I can play more up the middle. We'll figure it out. He was a shortstop, he can go get a ball."

Pedroia was 1 for 2 and turned a double play in Monday's 6-0 victory against Boston College at JetBlue Park. That was his only interaction on the field with Ramirez.

Manager John Farrell said Pedroia's instincts should ease the transition to first base for Ramirez. But it's hard to get a real gauge on it in spring training.


"It's helpful," Farrell said. "But again, until [Pedroia] sees it first-hand with game-speed plays, that is what will further cement his comfort level."

For Pedroia, breaking in a new first baseman is almost refreshing, because usually it's a shortstop. Barring calamity, Bogaerts will be the first shortstop Pedroia has played three seasons in a row with.

"It's nice," said Pedroia. "A lot of the years, you had to spend a lot of times with ground balls over and over to get in a rhythm. Now I can concentrate on other things.

"The consistency is there. It makes me better. I know where he's going to be."

Monday was a significant day for Farrell, too. The games were the first he managed since overcoming non-Hodgkin's Burkitt lymphoma. Farrell was diagnosed in August and missed 48 games while receiving treatment.

"To get back in the flow of things, the game is a lot of fun," Farrell said. "Regardless of what time of year, who you're playing against, the fact you're back involved in the game is a really good feeling.

“There were some significant things that were worked through. Now you cannot ask that any more. It was good to be back on the field.”

Peter Abraham can be reached at pabraham@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @PeteAbe.