Shoulder surgery will end Johan’s season

Things haven’t gone exactly the way the New York Mets hoped they would in 2010. A season that they hoped would see them contend for the National League East title has them currently in fourth place, with a rash of injuries adding to the disappointment.

That trend continued on Friday when it was announced that lefty ace Johan Santana would undergo shoulder surgery, ending his season.

“An MRI at the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan yesterday revealed that Mets pitcher Johan Santana has suffered a tear of the anterior capsule of the left shoulder,” an official statement from the Mets said. “The injury is located on the front and bottom part of the shoulder close to the pectoral muscle, resulting in discomfort radiating through both the pectoral muscle and shoulder. Santana will undergo surgery in the near future and we anticipate he will be able to resume throwing in the spring.”

Santana’s last start came on Sept. 2 against the Atlanta Braves. He had thrown five outstanding innings to break a three-game losing streak and earn his 11th victory of the year, but he left that start with what was then termed a left pectoral muscle strain.

He threw for 10 minutes from flat ground two days later, but when he was scratched from his last start, it was decided he would go see team doctors when the team returned to New York. The resulting MRI showed the shoulder damage.

Santana finished the season with an 11-9 record that did not accurately show how good he was for the Mets. He’s currently 11th in the NL with his 2.98 ERA and 14th in batting average against (.240). He went at least seven innings in 19 of his 29 starts, completing four of them, tied for third most in the NL.

Source: MLB.com