Third basemen Bill Mueller will have knee surgery and could be lost to the Cubs for at least a month, team President Andy MacPhail confirmed Saturday.
“Billy is going to have surgery to flush out some floating particles in his [left] knee,” MacPhail said. “We expect him back in four to five weeks. Bill preferred to get it over with. In my view it’s an inconvenience, as opposed to Flash [Gordon], which is a meaningful problem you’ll have to deal with over time.”
Mueller has had pain and swelling in the knee all spring. He fractured his kneecap last May when he crashed into a barrier chasing a foul ball in St. Louis.
“We always anticipated Billy would not be playing 162 games,” MacPhail said. “That’s one of the reasons we went out and got Chris Stynes and Mark Bellhorn–we understood this was going to be something we were going to augment with numbers.”
Stynes started Saturday and was replaced in the seventh inning by Bellhorn, who came into the game hitting .455 with 10 hits in 22 at-bats. Bellhorn was 3-for-5 in Friday’s loss to the White Sox. Stynes is 3-for-19 in spring games.
Stynes, 29, was signed as a free agent in January after playing for Boston last season. He batted .334 for Cincinnati in 380 at-bats in 2000. Bellhorn, 27, was once a highly regarded prospect for the A’s.
Manager Don Baylor said there will be open competition at third base while Mueller recuperates. He said he would consider using Delino DeShields at third, with 1997 starter Kevin Orie as a backup.
“Stynes has played more third, [but] they’re all in the mix right now,” Baylor said. “Bellhorn keeps hitting and hitting. A few years back you couldn’t have pried him away from the A’s.”
The kid’s all right: Although MacPhail has indicated pitcher Mark Prior is ticketed for Double-A West Tenn, Baylor suggested it’s a strong possibility that the first-round draft pick will be with the big club soon after the season begins. Prior was dazzling in three shutout innings Friday against the White Sox.
“His timetable [for going to the minor leagues] is only because he hasn’t pitched,” Baylor said. “Going through the grind of playing in the major leagues and that workload . . . he hasn’t experienced that yet.”
Baylor said he’s not alone in his assessment of Prior’s capabilities.
“I don’t think there’s going to be an argument,” Baylor said. “I’m pretty sure he’s ready. The guy is legit. I know it’s spring training, but stuff-wise and his poise alone, he’s not going to be flustered by a lot of things. He throws strikes. He [threw] back-to-back changeups. He’s not afraid to throw a 3-2 changeup. The more major-league batters he faces, he’ll be fine.”
The fifth starter’s job probably will be open, with Julian Tavarez being asked to go to the bullpen to help fill in for Gordon. MacPhail also has raised the possibility of trying to lure former Dodgers closer Jeff Shaw out of retirement.
Ailing: They continued to drop Saturday. Right-hander Mike Meyers, who has pitched two innings thus far in the spring, left after throwing one pitch. He had come into the game to start the sixth inning. He might have a strained rotator cuff. . . . Play-by-play broadcaster Pat Hughes called in sick and was replaced by Steve Stone. . . . Outfielder Moises Alou, who hasn’t played yet because of a strained rib muscle, is slated to play Monday, but Baylor said he could play Sunday against Anaheim if Alou says he is ready.
