NEW YORK — Alex Rodriguez is going to have surgery to repair the torn meniscus in his right knee and is expected to miss four to six weeks.
The Yankees say the slugging third baseman will be operated on today by Dr. Lee Kaplan at the University of Miami.
Rodriguez likely will be back in time for the final month or so of the season, when the Yankees expect to be in a race with Tampa Bay and Boston for the AL East title and the wild card.
Before Saturday’s game against the Rays, New York manager Joe Girardi revealed the injury to the leg Rodriguez uses to push off while swinging. An MRI on Friday showed a slight tear in the cartilage.
Rodriguez, who turns 36 this month, had already pulled out of this week’s All-Star Game.
The three-time AL MVP is hitting .295 with 13 home runs and 52 RBIs this season. But the slugger with 626 career home runs has not connected since June 11 and has gone 85 at-bats without a homer, his longest single-season drought.
Rodriguez tweaked his knee at Wrigley Field on June 19, and the tear in his meniscus has slowed him on the bases. He is batting .359 with 10 RBIs in his last 16 games but has looked much more like a singles hitter than a power hitter.
