San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey might need hip surgery that would end his season.
Giants general manager Bobby Evans said Tuesday that "we have discussed the possibility."
Posey has been dealing with hip trouble this season. A six-time All-Star, he got a cortisone injection and missed last month's game.
The 31-year-old Posey didn't start Tuesday night against the New York Mets after catching all 13 innings in a win Monday. The Giants began the day at 62-64 and on the fringe of playoff contention.
Posey is hitting .286 with five homers and 40 RBIs. Since the All-Star break, he is hitting .283 with no homers and nine RBIs.
Posey hasn't homered in a span of 166 at-bats since June 19, the third-longest homerless drought of his career in terms of days.
"I’ll be honest with you," manager Bruce Bochy said, according to Shea. "We have discussed that. We talked about it. Nothing’s been determined yet. Because we want him ready for next year. We’re discussing that now."
According to the Chronicle, a surgery would involve addressing the labrum and cleaning out bone spurs. A decision will be made soon.
If Posey goes through with the surgery, it’ll only amplify questions about whether he should move out from behind the plate. The six-time All-Star, four-time Silver Slugger, and 2012 MVP has been one of the National League’s top offensive catchers for nearly a decade now, and while he still provides above-average value as a contact hitter in addition to his strong defensive skills, it’s worth wondering whether he’d be able to regain some power — and play more regularly — as a first baseman. After all, he had hit double-digit homers in every full season of his career prior to this year, peaking at 22 in 2014. While Posey’s defense and guidance behind the plate surely would be missed, he also has the potential to be a Gold Glove-caliber defender at first — over 1,669.1 career innings at the position, he has five defensive runs saved and a 5.4 UZR/150.
If Posey decides to pull the plug early on his 2018 season, the Giants would presumably turn to Hundley as their starting backstop for the rest of the schedule.
