OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) _ Oakland Athletics second baseman Mark Ellis will miss the entire season with a right shoulder injury that
requires surgery.
Ellis, who has been rehabilitating in Phoenix, was in the Bay
Area on Saturday to meet with team doctor Jerrald Goldman about the
latest MRI on the shoulder. The test revealed a torn labrum, and
Goldman will perform the operation. No date had been set.
Ellis initially was expected to miss about two months after he
dislocated his shoulder in a collision with shortstop Bobby Crosby
during a spring training game against the Chicago Cubs on March 25.
"Mark is a good player, but we have other players lined up,"
manager Ken Macha said after the A's beat Seattle 2-1 Saturday.
"We can't go out and play much better than we have in the first
five games. I hope the surgery goes well. There was a comment on
the bench today that if anybody can work their way back, it's Mark
because of the way he works. It's a shame because he put a lot of
work into this offseason."
Trainer Larry Davis said it isn't yet clear how long Ellis will
need to recover because doctors won't know the extent of the tear
until performing the operation, expected to be in two or three
weeks.
"All along we suspected something like this," Davis said.
"But you spend a lot of time trying to prove it wrong."
Reports surfaced late in spring training that Ellis would
probably miss the whole season. But the A's wanted to wait for a
second MRI to be sure of his status after the initial test was
inconclusive because there was so much swelling and blood in his
shoulder.
"I'm preparing for the worst and hopefully I'll be surprised,"
Ellis said at the time. "Whatever happens, I'll do it. If I need
surgery, I'll rehab and get ready for next season."
Ellis had been encouraged by his strong spring after hitting a
disappointing .248 with nine home runs and 52 RBIs last season, his
first full campaign in the majors.
"I talked to him a little bit," Crosby said. "It's definitely
a rough deal. It's a tough one when you love something so much and
you can't play for so long. Knowing Mark, he'll get it done."
Reserve infielder Frank Menechino is also out with a strained
calf, so Marco Scutaro is the starting second baseman for now.
Oakland signed utilityman Mark McLemore last weekend to help the
ailing infield, but he's recovering from arthroscopic surgery on
his right knee. The A's are hoping he'll be back in the lineup by
the last week of April.