MIAMI — The 2009 Mets have made injury updates a daily necessity. But even for a team far too accustomed to absorbing bad news, this one is big.

Johan Santana is done for the year.
Mets general manager Omar Minaya announced via a Tuesday afternoon conference call that Santana would undergo “minor arthroscopic surgery to clear bone chips from his left elbow and is out for the remainder of the season.”
As much as this felt like just another body blow to a team that barely resembles the World Series hopeful put together in April, the news could have been worse. Though Santana becomes the 12th Mets’ player currently on the disabled list, there were internal concerns that the discomfort Santana complained about since his last start could have required a more serious operation.
When the Mets pulled Santana from a scheduled start Tuesday in Florida and sent him to see team orthopedist Dr. David Altchek, finding bone chips rather than something such as a bone spur or ligament damage brought some relief.
“I’m disappointed because I wanted to keep pitching and help my team, but at the same time I’m relieved to know everything has been clarified and it’s not the worst,” Santana said during a night conference call. “I’m going to do my best to recover. Believe me, I’m going to be ready to go for 2010, because I know myself very well. I want to compete. Do I want to go out like this? No. But my team requests (me) to take some time and that’s what I’m going to do.”
As the news unfolded throughout the day, there were some odd twists and turns as the Mets again found themselves defending the timeline and seriousness of Santana’s injury. The left-handed ace is the cornerstone of the organization — he has four years remaining on the franchise-high $137.5 million, six-year contract he signed after being traded to the Mets in February 2008.
So when it was revealed that he has been pitching with the bone chips for a while, first
complaining of some discomfort around the All-Star break, Minaya was asked why Santana had continued pitching. The Mets are out of playoff contention.
“It didn’t get worse in the last month or six weeks, just after the last start,” Minaya said. “That’s why we’re shutting him down now.”
Manager Jerry Manuel, similarly peppered with questions about the length and severity of Santana’s discomfort, also noted Santana’s complaint after his last outing.
“When it gets to the point where he mentions it, then all of a sudden the red flags go off,” Manuel said before the Mets dropped a 2-1 series opener to the Marlins, a game in which they saw yet another player leave with an injury. Gary Sheffield, after drawing a two-out, seventh-inning walk, had a cramp in his lower back and was lifted for pinch-runner Jeremy Reed.
As for Santana, he supported the team’s version of events, making a point to credit Minaya for the quick reaction to his latest discomfort. The 30-year-old veteran said he began feeling discomfort in his elbow before the All-Star break, and team trainers were monitoring the situation. After his last start, he said, “I felt there was some lack of range of motion. ... and that kind of concerned me. Omar decided to send me to the doctor. ... I’m very pleased with the way it’s gone.”
Santana mentioned 2003, when as a Twin he had off-season surgery to remove bone chips and returned to have his best season. Santana won one of his two Cy Young awards in 2004, when he was 20-6 with a 2.61 ERA. He was 13-9 with a 3.13 ERA this season, but had dipped considerably since June (6-7, 4.02 in his last 15 starts).
Pitching coach Dan Warthen said the elbow discomfort led Santana to struggle with velocity and control. Removing the bone chips should fix the problem.
“This is about the long term. We’re here for years to come. You don’t want to go out there and blow it and make it worse,” Santana said.