Buster Posey's 2018 season is about to come to an end.
Shortly after he caught all 10 innings of the San Francisco Giants' loss to the Texas Rangers on Friday, the 31-year-old catcher announced he'll be leaving the team after this weekend to undergo season-ending hip surgery Monday in Vail, Colorado.
Posey, who decided to reveal the news himself rather than wait for the team to announce it on Saturday, said he'll likely need six-to-eight months of recovery time following the procedure.
"If it goes smoothly, hopefully with no hiccups, I'll be ready to go next Opening Day," Posey told reporters, according to Paul Gackle of Bay Area News Group.
Posey’s surgery will be in Vail, Colorado with Dr. Phillipon. Arthroscopic. He hopes to be ready to start behind the plate on opening day. Procedure should restore full function. Labrum repair plus bone spurs.
— Andrew Baggarly (@extrabaggs) August 25, 2018
Earlier this week, Giants manager Bruce Bochy and executive vice president of baseball operations Brian Sabean both hinted that the likelihood of Posey shutting his season down early for the surgery was increasing. At that time, the Giants still harbored some hope of sneaking back into the playoff race, but they've since slid even further in the standings - Friday's loss left them nine games out of a playoff spot - making the decision to punt the season a relatively easy one.
Posey has appeared in 105 games this season and owns a .284/.359/.382 slash line (103 OPS+) with five home runs, 22 doubles, and 41 RBIs; defensively, he's thrown out just 28 percent of runners. Those numbers represent a career-worst season across the board for the former NL MVP, and 2018 will mark the first time Posey's failed to hit at least 10 homers while playing more than 100 games.
