So much for having merely a bone bruise.
It looks like Carlos Beltran made a wise choice in going back to his own Doctor - Dr. Richard Steadman - as it turns out he had a good bit of Osteoarthritis in his right knee. He had arthroscopic (Updated: 1/18/10; either Chondroplasty or Microfracture) surgery on Wednesday, which means that at the very earliest, Beltran would not return to the Mets until April. In all likelihood, May or June seems to be a more reasonable scenario.
Whenever you are dealing with articular cartilage (the hard, end plate cartilage that bears weight), all bets are off. There are many factors to consider with this recovery, regardless of the procedure: location/size/depth of cartilage damage, chronicity of the injury, individual’s pain tolerance/perception of pain, health factors, previous strength level, training, etc.
Plagued by knee pain over the recent years, Beltran has contributed heavily to many fantasy baseball teams. However, the past three years have shown a decline in power numbers (ISO, SLG%, HR/FB ratio), as well as a propensity towards the ground ball, as noted by an increase in GB%. Interestingly, his stolen base totals have still been pretty darn solid.
Look for that to change this year, as it would not surprise me at all to see Beltran dip under the 10 SB mark. I am avoiding him in all leagues this year, except for NL only leagues with DL spots available.
Click here for baseball betting , or visit the major league baseball website for news, schedules, and more.
6 Comments
Thanks for the update, hoping you have the time for more this season. Have you made a decision on whether you will be continuing this during the season or not?
As always, great analysis, Chris! I’ve missed your coverage over the last few months.
I agree with your assessment and was just pondering a piece aimed at steering my readers away from Carlos. But, then again, what if he drops like a rock in 2010 drafts?
In last Tuesday’s FBTM mock draft, he went in the 5th Round. What if he drops to the 10th to 15th Round range. Well, then, maybe we’ll have to think twice!
Hi Bob,
Nice hearing from you! Glad you stopped by…At some point in mixed leagues, you have to take a flier on him, but I’m really not interested in the headache that will come with the acquisition of Beltran this year. This is a guy who has a knee that is pretty much shot. Not to mention he has dealt with a myriad of right knee issues in the past (tendonitis, etc.). There is obviously some sort of predisposition that is either being overlooked, or cannot be fixed.
Hi Matt D,
I will try my best to be as comprehensive as I can this season. Now that I have a nice deck that I can go out on and write, I might be more inclined to do greater volume.
Yeah for that deck! Grab a cold one, and give us that analysis we need, Chris. You do a great job. I couldn’t agree with Matt more!
I know I’ve found the insight here to be invaluable, especially when information from teams/players isn’t very forthcoming. I often don’t have any questions to post since Chris has already covered everything I would want to ask. It’s good to know you’ll be around this year in any capacity you can be. Thanks Chris.
One Trackback/Pingback
[…] knee. The Disabled List Informer (an excellent site, BTW) has the details on his expected recovery here. This kind of surgery means an optimistic return at the beginning of the year, which puts him a […]
Post a Comment