Collins: Dillon Gee Surgery A Tough Blow To Mets
NEW YORK (WFAN/AP) -- Mets starter Dillon Gee is scheduled for right shoulder surgery that is likely to sideline him for the rest of the season.
The team said Gee will have surgery Friday in St. Louis to replace a portion of damaged artery. The right-hander was released from a New York hospital Wednesday after undergoing a procedure to break up a blood clot in his pitching shoulder.
The operation Friday is designed to prevent a possible recurrence of the clot in the same location. The club announced that the decision to go through with the additional surgery followed a recommendation this week by Mets medical staff and doctors in New York, as well as Gee's consultation Thursday with Dr. Robert Thompson in St. Louis.
Thompson will perform the surgery. He has performed similar procedures on several pro ballplayers, the Mets said.
"I talked to Dillon yesterday. Obviously he's disappointed that he's had the injury, but he's in good spirits because he knows there's going to be light at the end of the tunnel when he's all done with this," Mets manager Terry Collins said.
In its news release Thursday, the team did not mention a timetable for Gee's return - but the operation is expected to keep him off the mound for months.
"Big blow for us, but we all here are certainly hoping and praying that he gets back 100 percent healthy for next spring," Collins said.
Gee is 6-7 with a 4.10 ERA and had been one of New York's most effective starters lately. He became the second member of the team's opening-day rotation to go down with a serious injury, joining Mike Pelfrey on the disabled list.
Pelfrey had season-ending elbow surgery in early May.
The Mets have not announced a replacement for Gee yet. To fill his spot, they might move versatile journeyman Miguel Batista from the bullpen to the rotation - at least at first. They could also call up prized prospect Matt Harvey from Triple-A Buffalo, though management has maintained it would prefer to see Harvey get more seasoning in the minors.
"If the people who see him say, 'He's ready, bring him up,' (then) I'm all for it," said Collins. "It's a remote possibility. I'm not ruling out anything."
The surprising Mets are 46-40, putting them right in the thick of the NL wild-card race.
The 26-year-old Gee had been scheduled to start New York's first game after the All-Star break Friday night in Atlanta. Instead, he is going on the DL and Chris Young is slated to start. Josh Edgin will be called up from Buffalo to give the team a second left-hander in the bullpen.
Johan Santana, who twisted his ankle during his final start before the break, will pitch Sunday.
Gee complained of numb fingers on his right hand last Sunday, a day after he tossed eight strong innings in a 3-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs. Tests on Monday revealed the arterial blood clot in his shoulder, and doctors at New York-Presbyterian Hospital used a catheter to break it up.
Gee made his major league debut in 2010 and was 13-6 with a 4.43 ERA during his first full season last year.
NOTES: Mets LF Jason Bay (concussion) went 0 for 3 with a walk for Class-A St. Lucie in the first game of a doubleheader at Tampa. He played all seven innings in left field.
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