Even with a torn labrum A-Rod should shine

So Alex Rodriguez will attempt to play through pain. A torn labrum in his right hip could eventually require surgery, but A-Rod will tough it out for now.

"There's two courses of action concerning what he has," Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman said Thursday from Tampa, Fla. "There is treat it conservatively, which would imply rest, exercise and treatment. Or you can treat it aggressively, which is by surgery. At this point in time, we are going to go the conservative route."

There have been comparisons of A-Rod's injury to Chase Utley's. Utley played last year with his own hip injury and is just getting back to playing baseball again after surgery in late November.

Recently we have seen other high-profile baseball players undergo surgery to address labral injuries, including Phillies second baseman Chase Utley and Red Sox third baseman Mike Lowell. Utley, for one, had labral surgery in late November and is optimistic that he'll be ready for Opening Day. "Optimistic" is not "certain," though, and the time lapse between Utley's surgery and Opening Day will be about 19 weeks.

So, let's see how much Utley's numbers suffered from 2007 to 2008 to see what kind of impact we might see in A-Rod's 2009 season, assuming he can play through the pain like Utley did.

Utley
2006 - AB: 658 R: 131 HR: 32 RBI: 102 SB: 15 OBA: .379 SLG: .527 AVG: .309
2007 - AB: 530 R: 104 HR: 22 RBI: 103 SB: 9 OBA: .410 SLG: .566 AVG: .332
2008 - AB: 607 R: 113 HR: 33 RBI: 104 SB: 14 OBA: .380 SLG: .535 AVG: .292

A-Rod
2006 - AB: 572 R: 113 HR: 35 RBI: 121 SB: 15 OBA: .392 SLG: .523 AVG: .290
2007 - AB: 583 R: 143 HR: 54 RBI: 156 SB: 24 OBA: .422 SLG: .645 AVG: .314
2008 - AB: 510 R: 104 HR: 35 RBI: 103 SB: 18 OBA: .392 SLG: .573 AVG: .302

Utley's numbers over the past two years were most significantly impacted with his broken hand back in 2007. That injury caused him to miss several weeks in the late summer, retarding what might have been a career year. That said, Utley might've been on a growth trend that was further retarded in 2008 with the hip injury. His numbers in 2008 included a better slugging percentage than in 2006 and a better batting average, showing that despite the hip injury he was still playing at a very high level.

Of note: Utley stole 14 bases in 2008 despite the hip problem, which was just a couple of bags short of his career high and one short of his 2006 total when he batted 51 more times.

Fantasy Impact: If he can tolerate the pain, A-Rod has every ability to play with this injury and play well. Utley did not experience much of an impact in terms of matching his stellar numbers from previous seasons. A-Rod shouldn't either. If you think it's worth risking an eventual surgery or midseason shutdown, A-Rod is still a first round draft pick and high-end candidate to anchor your fantasy team's offense.