News: Tampa Bay center fielder B.J. Upton had surgery on his left shoulder this week and the Rays expect him to be ready by opening day. Dr. James Andrews did the surgery Tuesday, Rays executive vice president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said. "We don't have too much of an update other than to say we expect him to be ready during spring training and be in a position to be in our opening day lineup," Friedman said.
Analysis: The 24-year-old hit .273 with just nine home runs in 531 at-bats during the regular season. He played much of the season with a sore shoulder -- he throws right-handed -- that affected his offensive production. He batted .288 with seven homers and 16 RBI for the AL champions during the postseason, proving he still has that elite potential we all expected to come out. We list him as a top 20 outfielder right now, but no one should be surprised to see him finish among the top 10 by season's end in 2009
The 24-year-old Upton was dealing with unspecified left shoulder damage in the labrum area all season, which was a big reason why his home-run total dropped by 15 from 2007. "Obviously, with the fact that it was done [Tuesday], we don't have too much of an update, other than to say that we expect him to be ready during Spring Training and be in a position to be in our Opening Day lineup," Rays vice president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said.
The St. Petersburg Times reports that centerfielder B.J. Upton underwent surgery Tuesday to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder. The surgery was deemed successful and Upton is expected to be "100 percent" sometime during spring training.Upton is coming off a stellar postseason, in which he hit seven home runs and had 16 RBI. He had hit just nine homers in the regular season, but reluctantly revealed late in the year that he was playing with the labrum injury. Bossman Junior made some mechanical adjustments and had said he was feeling better during the postseason, but acknowledged he'd likely need surgery to fix the problem. Expect more power from him in 2009.
B.J. Upton underwent surgery Tuesday to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder. Dr. James Andrews did the honors. Upton has played through shoulder problems for a long time, but is expected to be fully healthy for Opening Day.Source: St Petersburg Times
Despite the widespread interest, it appears unlikely Tampa Bay will move Upton. After all, young five-tool center fielders don't exactly grow on trees. "We have a policy of not commenting on trades and also to say we're not in a position to say that anyone's untouchable," said Andrew Friedman, Rays executive vice president of baseball operations. "That said, there are certain guys that are much harder for us to trade and we're much less interested in trading than others, and I'll leave it at that."
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