The Seattle Mariners announced that newly acquired starting pitcher Cliff Lee underwent minor surgery on his left foot this past Friday. Lee needed the surgery to remove a floating bone spur in his foot that had recently broken loose from its attachment."We decided Lee should have the surgery as soon as possible, rather than try to pitch with the discomfort during the year," Mariners executive vice president and general manager Jack Zduriencik said. "To get it out of the way and have it behind us is important."
Lee won't need a cast or even to stay off his feet. He will continue his upper body exercises while being able to bear weight on the foot for the next 7-10 days. Then, over the next 2-3 weeks, Lee will gradually return to his normal baseball activities. With pitchers and catchers reporting to camp in just over a week, it appears Lee will be a bit behind the normal schedule for starting pitchers.
The Mariners have given no timetable for his return, but it's entirely possible Lee is forced to miss one or two starts as he's working himself back into shape. Considering the alternatives -- Lee pitching in pain all season or being forced to miss time early on in te season -- this seems to be the correct decision.
Lee, 31, won the AL Cy Young award in 2008 as a member of the Cleveland Indians. Last season, he was traded midseason to the Phillies. In 34 starts for the two teams in 2009, Lee went 14-13 with a 3.22 ERA and 1.24 WHIP. In the postseason, he was brilliant. Over the course of all three postseason series, Lee started five games, going 4-0 with a 1.56 ERA, striking out 33 and walking just six.
Lee will team up with Felix Hernandez to form one of the most lethal 1-2 rotation punches in the league this coming season.
Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Those two starts he could miss will give the Angels a chance to get an early lead in the division. The Mariners should be back in first by the end May or maybe early June.