Chien-Ming Wang Out for the Season, Done as a Yankee?

According to CBSSports.com Yankees pitcher Chien-Ming Wang will have surgery on his injured right shoulder today which will sideline him for the rest of the 2009 season. It's unknown how much of next season Wang will miss as well:

New York manager Joe Girardi said there is no timetable for when Wang will return next season, and that the team will know more about a potential timeframe after the procedure. Wang was examined Tuesday by noted orthopedist Dr. James Andrews. The right-hander went on the 15-day disabled list July 5 with a strained right shoulder. "It's a tough loss for us," Girardi said. "I feel for him. He's been through a lot the last 14, 15 months. Hopefully this is will be the end of the surgeries for him and he'll have the rest of his career be real healthy. We'll be there for him and we'll help him get through this. We'll get him back pitching as soon as we can."

Wang had struggled all year, going 1-6 with a 9.64 ERA in 12 games. Wang also missed the latter 3.5 months of last season with a foot injury.

Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News speculates that Wang may also have pitched his last game as a Yankee:

Wang is arbitration-eligible for the final time this winter, and after making $5 million this season, he’ll be due to make at least that much in 2010. If he’s going to miss a chunk of the season, look for the Yankees to non-tender him and try to sign him back for less, though Wang is still ticked off that they took him to arbitration in 2008 over $600,000.

This could very well be the end of Wang’s Yankees career, which would be a very sad thing. He’s done nothing but pitch his heart out for this team, even during his struggles this year.

Perhaps now that Wang is unable to contribute this year the Yankees will push harder to trade for a starter such as Jarrod Washburn.