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The Los Angeles Dodgers will be without catcher A.J. Ellis for over a month after he underwent arthroscopic surgery to repair the torn meniscus in his left knee.
The injury to his knee occurred Saturday while Ellis was trying to score from second base in a loss to the San Francisco Giants. The team reports that Ellis had a quick procedure Tuesday and will begin his rehab on Wednesday. The team is expected to call up Tim Federowicz from AAA Las Vegas to split time with Ellis’ current backup, Drew Butera.
Ellis does not normally share the Los Angeles spotlight the way some of his teammates do, but the Dodgers will miss Ellis’ abilities behind the plate. So far this season Ellis is batting just .167 with a .310 on-base percentage. His absence will further expose the lack of depth the team entered the season with.
The Dodgers have already seen injuries to several players this season including Chad Billingsley, Matt Kemp, Brian Wilson, Josh Beckett, and Yasiel Puig, but the team will be mindful of their latest injured player especially because this is the second surgery Ellis has had on the knee.
Ellis, who turns 33 on Wednesday, signed $3.55 million dollar deal this offseason to avoid arbitration. The deal also comes with a $150,000 performance bonus that is likely to waived because of the time he is expected to miss.
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