Tucson, Ariz. • Dodgers shortstop Hanley Ramirez is scheduled to undergo surgery Friday on his right thumb and is expected to be sidelined for eight weeks, leaving Los Angeles to look for alternatives at shortstop until he’s ready to play.
An MRI indicated that Ramirez has a torn ligament in his thumb, the team said Thursday. Dr. Steve Shin, a sports-medicine hand specialist, is scheduled to perform the surgery in Los Angeles.
Ramirez was injured Tuesday night while playing for the Dominican Republic in its victory over Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic championship game in San Francisco.
Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti said Ramirez could stat rehab in about three weeks. Colletti ruled out an immediate trade to address the temporary loss of Ramirez.
"Not as of now," Colletti said. "If it was all year long, we’d think about it differently. We’ve got some depth."
Dee Gordon and Luis Cruz appear to be the leading candidates to be the opening day shortstop.
It looked as though Gordon was headed to Triple-A Albuquerque. Gordon, who appeared in 87 games last season, was the Dodgers’ starting shortstop last season until he underwent surgery on July 6 for a similar injury to his right thumb. Cruz, a former shortstop, has been playing third base during the spring. He was projected to be at third for the opener against the San Francisco Giants at Dodger Stadium.
If Cruz moves to shortstop and Gordon goes to Albuquerque, the possibilities at third appear to be Juan Uribe, Nick Punto and Jerry Hairston.
"Right now, I have no idea what happens at shortstop," said manager Don Mattingly, who got the news before the Dodgers boarded a bus for Tucson and a game against the Chicago Cubs. "At this point, everything is hypothetical. I don’t know if I’m comfortable with anything going on at shortstop right now."
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Around the league
Mets • Third baseman David Wright was made the fourth captain in team history.
Wright joined Keith Hernandez, Gary Carter and John Franco as Mets to be appointed captain. Franco was the last player to hold the honor in 2004. The 30-year-old Wright is a six-time All-Star and the team’s career hits leader. He signed an eight-year, $138 million contract extension with the Mets in the offseason.
Yankees • New York general manager Brian Cashman says shortstop Derek Jeter will play only in minor league spring training games for the rest of spring training. The move could cut short how much time Jeter would miss if he starts the season on the 15-day disabled list. By not playing in major league exhibitions, the Yankees want to be able to adjust Jeter’s start time on the DL if that’s necessary.
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