The Disabled List Informer

Big news on the fantasy baseball front - especially for those of you deciding between A-Rod, Hanley, and Wright at the top of round one. Drafting A-Rod in the first round - once a forgone conclusion - is now is a major risk for fantasy owners.

Alex Rodriguez has a torn labrum in his right hip, and had a cyst drained yesterday. The cyst is minor, and is a secondary result - not the cause - of the labrum tear. His reported steroid use is not related to the cyst formation or labrum tear. The Yankees are reporting that Rodriguez plans to play through the injury. Rodriguez was not having pain in the hip this spring, just stiffness. Team Physician Chris Ahmad advised him to seek further consultation with renowned hip specialist Dr. Marc Phillippon in Vail, Colorado. I can tell  you from professional experience that if you need a hip arthroscopy, Dr. Phillippon does great things - his results are very, very good.

The first line of action, now that the cyst has been addressed, would be to allow for rest and rehabilitation - likely combined with a Cortisone injection to alleviate inflammation and hopefully to reduce pain. If he continues to have problems with the hip, surgery would be warranted and would likely put him out of action for up to four months.

Mike Lowell and Chase Utley played through torn hip labrums last season, with Lowell’s season ending early, and Utley grinding it out all the way through the World Series. Brian Cashman had mentioned that A-Rod’s situation is similar to Lowell’s. Both required off season surgeries to address the tears.

In the case of Alex Rodriguez, his tear is in the posterior labrum, which is often torn with repetitive hip extension combined with abduction and external rotation - much like when a third baseman/shortstop must push off forcefully to get to a hard hit for a backhand attempt.

If A-Rod is forced to miss time this season, Cody Ransom would be his replacement at third base, though the Yankees would more than likely try to acquire a more proven veteran.

For what it is worth, I am not going to be drafting A-Rod in the first round. Given this news, I probably would not draft him unless he drops to the third round or later (which probably won’t happen), so it looks like I will not have A-Rod on any of my teams in 2009.