David Aardsma's Hip, Trade Value Require Repair

I was just sitting here, staring off into space, thinking about how hard it is to get back into the writing mood after the holidays when there's so little new news to discuss. Thankfully the Mariners' official Twitter account saved the day by delivering this delightful little nugget completely out of the blue:

#Mariners have announced that RHP David Aardsma will have surgery (Dr. Phillipon, Vail, Co.) on Monday to repair torn labrum in left hip.

A torn labrum in the hip is, of course, a lot better for a pitcher than having a torn labrum in the shoulder, but having a torn anything is always bad news, and this is hardly insignificant.

Alex Gordon had a very similar surgery and was out of action for three months. Chase Utley, Mike Lowell, and Alex Rodriguez have dealt with similar injuries as well, and none of them were given quick timelines. There's a slim chance that Aardsma is recovered by the start of Spring Training, but more likely is that he isn't recovered until the end, or even the start of the regular season.

Aardsma should be able to make a full recovery - this isn't something that should damage his long-term prospects. What it does, rather obviously, is make him untradable, at least for the short-term. So you can forget about adding some financial flexibility, and you can also reduce the odds of some of those fringey guys making the bullpen out of camp.

Just how much this actually changes, I'm not sure; my sense is that the M's were leaning towards keeping Aardsma into the summer anyway. But now they don't have a choice. Aardsma and his salary are locked in with the Mariners for at least the next three months, and if this is the way it ends, then I think we can all agree that 2010 can go eat shit and kill itself.