More surgery for Santana; return uncertain

As if the Mets needed something else to worry about, Johan Santana's season is over and his 2011 is in jeopardy. The team announced Friday that the two-time Cy Young winner will have surgery to repair a tear in the anterior capsule of his left shoulder.

The Mets said in a statement that they "anticipate he will be able to resume throwing in the spring" but did not give a more specific timeline. The Yankees' Jorge Posada, who said he needed six months to recover from the same surgery, suggested Friday that Santana could require more time because of the demands on a pitcher's shoulder.

As for Santana, he refused to make any promises about his availability next Opening Day.

"I don't really know," Santana said. "This is something that I was told is going to take time. And then, I just got to wait and see. I think the most important thing here is to be ready, to be 100 percent. Whether it's April, whether it's May, July, October. Who knows? Time will tell how I recover."

The Mets continued their September slide Friday night with an 8-4 loss to the Phillies. Jenrry Mejia, who takes on added importance in the wake of Santana's injury, again showed he might not be ready, allowing nine hits and six runs in four innings.

Santana initially was diagnosed with a strained left pectoral muscle after being removed from a Sept. 2 start against the Braves in Atlanta. He lasted five innings that night and threw only 65 pitches, with manager Jerry Manuel stepping in to prevent his return when Santana complained of "tightness" in the shoulder area.

Still, Santana was allowed to play long toss two days later in Chicago and also tested the shoulder with a bullpen side session the following day before the Mets finally decided to skip him in the rotation. The tear was discovered Thursday when Santana had an MRI.

Mets orthopedist David Altchek is expected to perform the operation. Santana, however, will seek a second opinion from Dr. James Andrews, another highly respected specialist, before having the surgery, probably early next week.

"I didn't know the magnitude of the injury that I had," Santana said. "Compared to what I had in the past, it's not even close."

Santana now has required surgery in each of the first three seasons of his six-year, $137.5-million contract with the Mets. In 2008, he had a torn meniscus in his right knee repaired after the season. Last year, he needed to have bone chips removed from his left elbow. On both occasions, Santana was able to return for spring training, and the Mets are hopeful he will do so again.

Santana was told by Altchek that this is "not a common injury" but that there have been a number of successful cases.

"For a pitcher it's different," Posada said Friday. "He depends on his shoulder more. I think it's going to be a little bit longer than six months for him."

General manager Omar Minaya was asked if he ever wondered why this type of stuff keeps happening to the Mets.

"A lot of times you ask yourself that question," Minaya said. "I think sometimes these things go in cycles, and unfortunately we're in this cycle right now and we wish that we were not."