Report: Ryan Kalish Expected to Miss Six Months Following Shoulder Surgery

by Ricky Doyle on Thu, Jan 31, 2013 at 11:49AM

Ryan Kalish is officially on the road to recovery after undergoing successful shoulder surgery on Tuesday. That road might be a little bit longer than originally anticipated, though.

The Boston Globe’s Peter Abraham reports that he was told the recovery time following Kalish’s shoulder surgery is six months. That means Kalish might not be able to begin baseball activities until August, which Abraham says could make this season “a wash” for the outfielder.

That obviously isn’t good news for the Red Sox or Kalish, but let’s keep in mind that things could certainly change as the 24-year-old progresses in his rehab. In fact, WEEI.com’s Alex Speier isn’t ready to consider Kalish’s season a lost one just yet.

Speier took a look at a couple of other position players who have undergone similar procedures in the past, and he estimates that it could be a five-month recovery for Kalish, which would mean Kalish could be able to play in early July. B.J. Upton, who had a torn labrum in his non-throwing shoulder, underwent surgery in mid-November of 2008 and returned in mid-April of 2009, almost five months after his procedure. Adrian Gonzalez also had surgery on his non-throwing shoulder, and he was sidelined for about five months as well.

It’s tough to put a finger on when exactly Kalish will be ready to return to action, but it’s clear that he’ll likely miss more than just spring training. The more realistic scenario is that Kalish starts playing baseball again around midseason.

Have a question for Ricky Doyle? Send it to him via Twitter at @TheRickyDoyle or send it here.