The hits keep coming for the 2009 New York Mets.
On Tuesday, ace Johan Santana received some bad news from Dr. David Altcheck, who found bone chips in his left elbow during an examination in New York.
The 30-year-old southpaw and two-time Cy Young Award winner will undergo elbow surgery to remove the bone chips, thus ending his 2009 season. The team claims that Santana will be ready for the start of the 2010 season.
"It's mostly soreness. It's my understanding from the doctors there are bone chips," general manager Omar Minaya told the Daily News via a conference call. "We all want to see Johan Santana pitching in September. But this is a smart move because we want to see him pitching for the long haul."
Santana, who was scratched for his Tuesday start in Florida on Monday, ends his campaign at 13-9 with a 3.13 ERA in 25 starts in his second season with the Mets. Nelson Figueroa will start Tuesday night against the Marlins in his place. Santana became the 12th Mets player to go on the disabled list, joining fellow stars David Wright, Carlos Beltran, Jose Reyes, Carlos Delgado, J.J. Putz and John Maine among others.
