San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey has opted to have season-ending hip surgery and could be sidelined six to eight months, the team said Friday.
The six-time All-Star has been hobbled by a hip problem all season. Posey, 31, recently got a cortisone injection and missed last month’s All-Star Game.
Posey will visit Dr. Marc J. Philippon, in Vail, Colorado, for the procedure to repair his labrum and to remove a bone spur in his right hip. The recovery timeline could cause him to miss part, if not all, of spring training, but Posey was optimistic.
“If things go smoothly with no hiccups, I’ll be ready to go next Opening Day,” Posey told reporters Friday.
The Giants open the 2019 season in seven months against the San Diego Padres on March 28. They are currently 63-67 and are nine games back in the NL West and NL wild-card races entering Saturday’s games.
“You don’t want to say you’re out of it until you’re out of it,” Posey told reporters. “But unfortunately, where we are, I think it makes the most sense to get this taken care of.”
Posey is hitting .284 with 5 homers and 41 RBIs. Since the All-Star break, he is hitting .273 with no homers and 10 RBIs. He hasn’t homered in a span of 173 at-bats since June 19, the third-longest homerless drought of his career in terms of days.