Alex Rodriguez Surgery

Update: Will Carroll has said on his Facebook status that he is 95% sure Alex will have the surgery. Not sure if he means before the season starts or during the season, but it's time to move on. I cannot suggest drafting A-Rod anywhere near the first 5 rounds at this point. Since someone will always take him early though you shouldn't have him on your team this year.

Update: ESPN and the Yankees are reporting that Alex has a labral tear on top of his cyst. They are going to try and treat this conservatively first and delay surgery until after the season. This is a risky idea for a couple reasons. First, they are playing chicken with the surgery and are praying that it will last 8 months. As we saw with Mike Lowell, that plan doesn't always work and I contend missing the end of the year and the playoffs are worse than missing the first couple of months.

Secondly, they're assuming that the tear won't worsen or cause damage to the head of the femur. Damage to the femur is much more damaging and harder to correct.

If he does get surgery, he will likely be out for around 4 months, maybe longer if additional damage if found. I think that this clearly effects his fantasy status, possibly out of the first round even if he doesn't get surgery. If he does end up getting surgery, I think it'll be hard for him to get even 20HR so be very careful.