San Diego Padres catcher Nick Hundley has been transferred to the 60-day disabled list and will undergo season-ending surgery tomorrow to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee, report Chelsea Janes and Corey Brock of MLB.com:
Catcher Nick Hundley's frustrating season ended officially Monday, when San Diego placed him on the 60-day disabled list with a torn meniscus in his right knee...
Hundley will have surgery Wednesday to repair the meniscus and clean up his knee, a procedure that has a 4-6 week recovery time in most cases.
The surgery caps a season that has been disappointing all-around for Hundley. Signed to a three-year, $9 million contract extension in March, the 28-year-old catcher struggled out of the gate and never turned things around. Hitting just .166/.226/.259 through the end of June, the Padres demoted Hundley to Triple-A where he continued to struggle.
Hundley is reluctant to blame his lingering knee injury, which he suffered on the team's first road trip in April, on his poor performance on the field. However, with numbers so low it seems evident that the injury was a significant hindrance on his performance.
With rookie catcher Yasmani Grandal finding immediate success at the big league level in Hundley's absence, hitting .276/.363/.500 in thirty-one games, it should be interesting to see what the Padres choose to do at catcher next season. Hundley is under contract through 2014 with a $5 million club option for the 2015 season.