Cincinnati Reds catcher Devin Mesoraco will undergo hip surgery on June 29 and will miss the remainder of the 2015 season.
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Mesoraco to Have Surgery, 4-6 Month Window for Return
Saturday, June 20
MLB.com’s Robert Bondy reported on Twitter that Mesoraco will undergo rehabilitation for four to six months and figures to be ready in time for the 2016 campaign.
Beacuse of the nagging injury, the Reds attempted to deploy Mesoraco in left field earlier this month after he’d reaggravated his hip while doing catching drills.
As recently as Wednesday, it seemed Mesoraco was all but resigned to the option of surgery.
“I wanted to continue to get to the point where this is my only option, this is the only thing I can do. I’m definitely pretty close to that now,” said Mesoraco, per Cincinnati.com’s C. Trent Rosecrans. “We’ve done eight to 10 different things to try to make it feel better, but every time we try something, it continues to get (aggravated) in there.
John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer recently analyzed how Mesoraco’s persistent absence has impacted a club that’s already been bitten by the injury bug:
Mesoraco hit 25 homers and drove in 80 runs a season ago in just 114 games, but he never really got a chance to build on that momentous year. He played in just 23 contests this season and batted .178. The 27-year-old’s WAR slipped from 4.8 in 2014 to -0.2, per ESPN.com.
So now Cincinnati is without its talented backstopper amid a year of pitching struggles. The Reds ranked 19th in baseball in team ERA at 4.01 entering Saturday’s action. At least Mesoraco will have ample time to make a full recovery and hopefully be fit to return to form in 2016.
Unfortunate as Mesoraco’s injury is, Cincinnati will at least get a longer look at the likes of young catcher Tucker Barnhart. He figures to see the field occasionally while veteran Brayan Pena fills in on more of a full-time basis.
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