Diamondbacks Starter to Miss 2009 and Possibly 2010?

It looks as though the Arizona Diamondbacks may be caught in a bit of a Webb, literally.

Former National League CY young award winner Brandon Webb may require surgery on his torn Labrum, which would force him to miss the remainder of the 2009 season and part of the 2010 season, according to a report in the Arizona Republic.  

Webb, who has only made one start this year, was once the cornerstone of the Arizona franchise. Now with surgery looming it remains to be seen whether Webb is part of the Diamondbacks long term plans.

Webb is currently due for a team option on his contract in 2010. If the Diamondbacks elect to pick up his option it will cost them $8.5 million, however, they do have an option to buy out his contract for only $2 million.

Now officially Webb has not decided if he wants to continue with surgery. He is currently seeking alternate opinions, but those close to the situation think in the end surgery is the only option.

Diamondback manager A.J. Hinch had this to say when asked about the possibility of Webb having surgery, "We're going through the information with the doctors," he said, "and he's evaluating how many doctors he wants to see, getting as many opinions as possible."

Whichever route the Diamondbacks elect to go they will have until five days after the World Series to make a decision.

At the end of the day it's very difficult to find good pitching, I would expect the Diamondbacks to exercise Webb's option. However, if they elect to pass I would expect several teams to be interested in Webb's services.