SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — For Roy Halladay, arthroscopic surgery on his troublesome throwing shoulder became the best-case scenario when he had prepared himself for the worst — a career-ending injury that would force his retirement when he’s far from ready.
Halladay will undergo a procedure in his right shoulder to repair a partially torn rotator cuff and remove a bone spur. He also has some fraying of the labrum.
“I think we did all the right things,” Halladay said. “Now I feel I have something to grasp onto, something to move forward with. I don’t feel as lost as before. I feel like there’s some answers.”
He is relieved he won’t need reconstructive surgery at this stage.
On the 15-day disabled list since Monday because of inflammation in his throwing shoulder, the two-time Cy Young Award winner met with Dr. Lewis Yocum in Los Angeles on Tuesday. Halladay hadn’t decided on which doctor will but said he expects to have surgery next week to give himself the best chance of returning this season.
“They’re going to go in and clean up the bone spur, clean up the rotator cuff and the labrum, try and keep that as unevasive as possible,” Halladay said in the dugout Wednesday before the Phillies played the San Francisco Giants.
“From what I understand, if they go in and see during surgery what they saw on the exams, I have a chance to come back and pitch this year — I have a good chance to come back and pitch this year. Hopefully be a lot more effective.”
The 35-year-old right-hander has experienced little pain, but his location and velocity have been the pitcher’s biggest concern. He is 2-4 with an 8.65 ERA in seven starts this season after missing nearly two months last year because of a strained back muscle. Halladay allowed nine runs in 2 1-3 innings of a 14-2 defeat to Miami on Sunday for his second straight loss and second outing in a row of less than four innings — third in all this year.
“They said my range of motion will be better, my location will be better, hopefully the velocity will be better,” Halladay said. “They said the cause is a bone spur; the rotator cuff kept rubbing over it. Over time, it gradually created more and more of a tear. They want to get that cleaned up and get that out of there.”
Even if he returns this year, Halladay figures to miss a substantial part of the season in his contract year. He is earning $20 million this season.
Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr., said he won’t rule out re-signing Halladay for 2014, though he said it was too early to think that far into the future. Whether Halladay could become a reliable bullpen option has not been addressed, though Halladay reiterated he wants to start.
“Who wouldn’t want Roy Halladay around?” Amaro said.
Halladay said he might have considered retirement had doctors told him he couldn’t come back at full strength and regained his former top form.
“He said in certain cases it’s been three months, but we really don’t have a timetable,” Halladay said of Yocum’s prognosis. “I think the timetable is going to come once they go in and confirm that, hey, what we saw on the X-rays is exactly what we saw when we went in there. They were definitely optimistic that I would be back this year.”
He also underwent an exam in which dye is injected into the injured area before scans are taken in the MRI tube.
Whenever he is able to pitch again, Halladay still hopes he gets a chance for a World Series ring.
“You want to go out strong — ideally, you want to go out a world champion,” he said. “Some of those things aren’t in your your control. I have no regrets at any point over my career. If things don’t work out and they do end on a sour note, I’m not going to look at it that way. I really don’t think that’s going to be the case.”
Amaro said the Phillies will call up right-hander Tyler Cloyd from Triple-A Lehigh Valley to take Halladay’s turn in the rotation Friday at Arizona.
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