Baltimore Orioles third baseman Manny Machado had season ending surgery on his left knee at the end of last September after tearing his patellofemoral ligament while running to first base during a game against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Ten days ago he took an awkward swing in a game against the New York Yankees and injured his right knee. It has now been reported by Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports that according to a source Machado will be undergoing season ending surgery again this season on his right knee.
An official announcement is expected to be made Saturday by the Orioles. On Friday, Orioles’ manager Buck Showalter told reporters that Machado would not be returning to the lineup on Wednesday when he is scheduled to be finished with his stint on the disabled list,
"“I’ll probably try to bring some clarity and everything to where we are with that situation, try to gather exactly what he’s being told, as far as when baseball activities would start and all that stuff. I’ll try to clear that up for you probably [Saturday] and get a more definitive idea.”"
When Machado underwent his first surgery last year, Yahoo’s David Brown reported in The Big League Stew that “Machado has a history of dislocating his knee cap.”
When Los Angeles Dodgers’ Dr. Neal ElAttrache performed the surgery on Machado’s left knee he found an abnormality that sources say we now know exists in both Machado’s knees.
Machado’s first surgery corrected the abnormality in his left knee. The same problem in his right knee is likely what has caused his knee injury and will also be corrected during his second surgery. Essentially, his knees should both be fine after he recovers from his second surgery.
Machado should be ready to start spring training in 2015 but the loss of both his bat and glove is a blow to the Orioles’ hopes of going far into October. The team is currently first in the American League East by 8 1/2 games over the Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays.
Even though Machado started the season late, while still recovering from last season’s knee surgery and missed time due to a suspension for throwing his bat during a game against the Oakland Athletics, he’s been on a tear since with five homers and 15 RBI in 20 games in July and August. The 2013 Gold Glove third baseman will likely be replaced by a struggling Chris Davis.