Kyle Blanks to Undergo Season-Ending Shoulder Surgery

The San Diego Padres have announced that outfielder Kyle Blanks will undergo season-ending surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder.  Blanks initially hit the Padres 15-day disabled list because of the shoulder, but further examination revealed the significant labrum tear.  This will mark Blanks’ second season-ending surgery in the past three years.

San Diego has said Blanks will require four-to-six months to recover from the labrum surgery.  Rather than try and speed through the recovery process, Blanks is focusing on doing what is necessary for him to be fully healthy for the 2013 season.

During the 2010 season Blanks was also forced to miss the final four months due to injury.  That year the outfielder’s right elbow required season-ending surgery.  Blanks wasn’t able to finish the 2009 season, his first in the bigs, healthy either, as he missed the final month of action while dealing with a plantar fascia tear in his right foot.

Though he’s now spent parts of four seasons at the major league level, Blanks has still yet to collect 500 career plate appearances due to his array of injuries.  Over his 425 major league at-bats, Blanks has maintained a career line of .219/.316/.421.

The 25-year-old has fared much better in the minors.  Last season for the Padres Triple-A affiliate, Blanks hit at a clip of .312/.382/.579 with 15 home runs, 28 doubles and 62 RBIs over his 311 at-bats.  Blanks holds a career minor league OPS of .905 over his seven seasons.

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