Third baseman Taylor Green, one of the top prospects in the Milwaukee Brewers' system, underwent surgery Wednesday to repair a lingering wrist injury and is expected to miss the first month of the 2009 season.
Green, 22, is ranked by Baseball America as the Brewers' No. 8 prospect. He was the organization's minor-league player of the year in 2007. Green was hit on the left wrist by a pitch near the end of the 2008 season at Class A Brevard County. He was sidelined for a couple of weeks but appeared to be recovered and was sent to the Arizona Fall League, where his campaign ended prematurely when a bad-hop grounder broke his nose.
"He said he could hit but it still bothered him with certain movements," said Brewers assistant general manager Gord Ash. "It was one of those things that was difficult to pinpoint.
"At the 'Winter Warm-Up' last weekend, he mentioned he still had some pain in it so we had our doctor and a hand specialist look at it. They eventually found a compression fracture in it, which is sort of a dent in the bone."
In a procedure performed by specialist Roger Daley at Froedtert Hospital, additional bone was grafted onto the spot.
Wrist problems can be tricky for hitters, but Ash said the Brewers hope Green is able to play by May 1, probably at Class AA Huntsville.
"It's disappointing because it's been going on so long," said Ash. "But he's a tough kid and the feeling is that he's not going to miss significant time."
Last season at Brevard, Green batted .289 with 19 doubles, 15 homers and 73 RBI in 114 games.
He was on a two-player list used to complete the CC Sabathia trade with Cleveland, but the Indians chose outfielder Michael Brantley instead.
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