A-Rod Opts Surgery; Other Updates

Alex Rodriguez opted to have surgery on his right hip. A-Rod will go under the knife on Monday and will miss 6-9 weeks.

"In a situation like Alex's, when we're trying to return him rapidly to his
high-level function, it's certainly a very good option," Dr. Marc Philippon
said. "It's a little more demanding on the patient, but Alex is very athletic
and has overall very good muscular strength. I firmly believe that this approach
will be successful."

Because of surgery, A-Rod will not be playing through much pain when he returns to the playing field. A-Rod should recover quicker, but will likely undergo another procedure once the season is over.

There could be some good to come out of the surgery. It could take away from the steroid controversy, however the Yankees hate to lose one of the best players in the game.

"Alex is a big part of what we're doing out there, and we need him healthy and
we need him around," Joe Girardi said. "We're going to be without him for a while,
but good teams find ways to overcome situations like this."

In other injury news, the Los Angeles Angels' Ervin Santana has been shut down due to inflammation in his pitching elbow.

Mike Pelfrey of the Mets has also felt pain in his leg.

MLB News: Jon Lester has agreed to an extension with the Boston Red Sox. The deal is 5 years, worth $30 million. Lester, a cancer survivor, is 27-8 with a 3.81 ERA in his career.

The Brewers have released pitcher Eric Gagne.

QUOTE SOURCE: MLB.com