Alex Rodriguez Needs Knee Surgery, Could Miss a Month

by Chad Graff on Sat, Jul 9, 2011 at 1:23PM

Alex Rodriguez has a "slight" meniscus tear, Yankees manager Joe Girardi said, and needs knee surgery.

The third baseman has two options — undergo the surgery now and likely miss a month, or try to play through it at the risk of injuring it even more and undergo surgery after the season.

Rodriguez is hitting .333 in his last 22 games, but more notably hasn't homered in that time frame, a span of 85 at-bats — the longest home run drought of his career.

“I just don’t think he has the drive in his back side that he needs to have to be the power hitter he’s capable of being,” Girardi told the NY Times. “I still think he can be productive and get his base hits, but I don’t think you’re seeing him necessarily drive the ball as much.”

Rodriguez, who had a magnetic resonance imaging exam on Friday, according to the Times, was replaced in the lineup Friday by utility infielder Eduardo Nunez.

If A-Rod undergoes the surgery, it would, quite obviously, be a big blow to the powerful New York offense. Nunez would likely get a majority of the playing time at the hot corner if Rodriguez opts for surgery. He's hitting .278 with three home runs on the season.