Travis Hafner : October 15th, 2008, 12:00 am est

News: Indians DH Travis Hafner had arthroscopic surgery on his right shoulder Tuesday and is expected to be ready for the start of next season. Renowned orthopedic specialist Dr. James Andrews performed the 45-minute operation on Hafner at St. Vincent Hospital in Birmingham, Ala., the club said. Andrews cleaned out Hafner's shoulder joint, the Indians said in a statement. He missed more than three months this season after losing most of the strength in his shoulder. The team did not indicate that Andrews found any abnormalities in Hafner's shoulder. He will begin physical therapy Thursday at Progressive Field.

Analysis: Hafner returned from the disabled list in September but was restricted from playing more than two days in a row. An exam at the end of the season indicated his shoulder strength declined from 75 percent to 70 percent. Hafner hit .197 with five homers and 24 RBI in 57 games for the Indians last season. He entered the 2008 season with a .290 career average and averaged 32 homers and 108 RBI in the previous four seasons. Hafner didn't impress in his return late in the season, and you obviously shouldn't draft him expecting to return to his .300-hitting, 40-homer ways. In fact, he's nothing more than a late-round flier going into 2009 because we have no way of knowing how much the shoulder surgery will help