Dillon Gee Hospitalized, Headed to DL

The New York Mets will place starting pitcher Dillon Gee on the disabled list. Gee has a blood clot in his throwing shoulder and will remain hospitalized for the next two days. Here is the team's official statement (via ESPN New York's Adam Rubin):

"On Sunday, Dillon Gee complained of numbness in the fingers of his right hand. Yesterday, after extensive testing, Dillon was found to have a clot in an artery in his right shoulder and doctors at New York-Presbyterian Hospital in New York City used a catheter to break up the clot. Dillon will remain hospitalized for the next day or two to ensure that the clot is fully resolved. Dillon will not make his next start and will be placed on the disabled list. The timing of his return to baseball activity is currently undetermined."

It is unclear how long Gee will be out, but the Mets will indeed place him on the DL, so it could be a significant amount of time. The team could replace Gee in the rotation with Jeremy Hefner, who has appeared in 11 games for New York this season, 3 of which were starts.

Regardless of whether it's Hefner or another pitcher that replaces Gee, the Mets could structure their rotation to avoid using a fifth starter for quite some time.

Mets, if they rearranged rotation again, would not need a 5th starter until as late as July 21 because of A-S break and Monday off-day.

— Adam Rubin (@AdamRubinESPN) July 10, 2012