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Rays' Pena Has Surgery

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By MARC LANCASTER | The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 29, 2009

ST. PETERSBURG - Throughout the final two months of the 2008 season and on into the playoffs, Carlos Pena never let on that he was playing through occasionally severe abdominal pain.

"If I were to take a checked swing it would kill me, it would hurt like crazy," Pena said Thursday. "And running was very difficult, very painful."

The Rays' first baseman said he needed two cortisone shots to get through the season and hoped that once he had a chance to rest the discomfort would subside. But it never quite disappeared.

After getting the problem checked out by local doctors, Pena visited a specialist in Philadelphia early this month, and all it took was a quick look at an MRI exam for Dr. William Myers to recommend surgery. Pena took the doctor's advice and had the procedure to repair tears on the left and right sides of his lower abdomen done then and there on Jan. 8.

Three weeks later, Pena said he feels much better and will be ready to go for spring training. Undergoing surgery will keep him from playing for the Dominican Republic in this spring's World Baseball Classic, a decision that left Pena "very disappointed and heartbroken," and he'll take his time before getting up to full speed in spring training.

Still, he said he doesn't expect the problem to linger into the season, and because he decided to have surgery, he doesn't anticipate having to deal with the pain again.

"The doctor said I could probably play through pain like I did the last few months of the year, or 'I could go in and do a small procedure and sew you up and you'll be like new,'" said Pena. "I said, 'Let's do it.'"

Reporter Marc Lancaster can be reached at (813) 259-7227.

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