News
McGehee to undergo right knee surgery
Brewers third baseman will have loose bodies removed
By Adam McCalvy / MLB.com
09/29/09 8:54 PM ET
DENVER -- The Brewers announced Tuesday that third baseman Casey McGehee will undergo arthroscopic surgery after the season to remove loose bodies from a right knee that has bothered him all season. The surgical option had been on the table since the All-Star break, but McGehee traveled on Monday's off-day to Vail, Colo., for a visit with Dr. Richard Steadman to finalize a plan. Dr. William Raasch, the Brewers' head physician, will perform the surgery, presumably soon after Sunday's season finale. "I pretty much knew what I was going to hear," said McGehee, who was in the starting lineup for the Brewers' series opener against the Rockies. "I was just hoping maybe he had some alternatives that they hadn't thought of." Steadman is a knee expert who specializes in skiers but has also consulted with a number of professional athletes, including the Lakers' Kobe Bryant in 2003 and then-Brewers infielder Tony Graffanino in '07. McGehee is torn about going under the knife for the first time in his career, saying at one point in a conversation with reporters that, somewhat contrary to the team's announcement, he was still weighing his options. He planned to have a conversation with Raasch in the next few days to set the details. Brewers assistant general manager Gord Ash, the team's point man on medical issues, couldn't provide an estimated timeline for McGehee's recovery. "Getting it cleaned up, is that going to be sufficient enough to take care of the problem?" McGehee said. "I don't know. I'm trying to do as little as possible. It's something I feel I can keep playing with, so I want to make sure it's not something that's going to come back to bite me at a later date. I want to be cautious about it, to make sure we do the right thing to take care of it." McGehee has been one of the Brewers' best stories this season, an October 2007 waiver claim from the Cubs who has emerged as the offensive frontrunner for the National League Rookie of the Year Award. Despite the bad knee, he entered Tuesday leading all Major League rookies with 64 RBIs while batting .304 with 15 home runs. Manager Ken Macha has given McGehee a day off here and there, but he's been available every day, and the manager looked at that fact as something to be proud of. "He spends a lot of time in the training room getting ready to play, both [pregame] and post," Macha said. "That takes a toll on a person, because it's not like he can just show up and play. It shows a desire to get out there to go out and do it." Whether he wins the league honor, McGehee is the clear frontrunner to be the Brewers' Opening Day third baseman in 2010. "My No. 1 goal is to be ready to go, in great shape for Spring Training," he said. "To do that, I need to do whatever I need to do to be sure I'm healthy so I can work out the way I need to." McGehee wasn't the only Brewers player who spent Monday in the doctor's office. Reliever Mark DiFelice was in Los Angeles for a visit with Dr. Lewis Yocum, who confirmed Raasch's recommendation to conservatively rehabilitate a slightly torn labrum in DiFelice's right shoulder. DiFelice had major shoulder surgery after the 2001 season, and another procedure could have been career-threatening. "I'm relieved," DiFelice said. "They said they could have gone in there and cleaned it up, but I'm just anti-surgery right now. Coming back from a second surgery would be difficult." Fellow reliever Mike Burns might not prove so lucky. He underwent an MRI in Milwaukee on Monday that revealed damage to the labrum in his right shoulder. Burns was to meet again Wednesday with Raasch to discuss the options.Adam McCalvy is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
