Brandon Morrow has season-ending shoulder surgery

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Saturday, August 22, 2015

San Diego Padres right-hander Brandon Morrow had season-ending debridement surgery on his right shoulder and is expected to miss three to four months.

"No other repairs, no anchor needed, just the debridement and cleanup," Morrow told MLB.com.

Morrow, who signed with the Padres as a free agent following five seasons with Toronto, has been beset by injuries, making just five starts this season. He initially went on the disabled list May 5 with right shoulder inflammation and was shut down in June after Padres manager Bud Black said Morrow felt shoulder discomfort in a rehab start. An MRI showed no "significant changes."

Morrow, 31, had surgery on Wednesday.

"Obviously, there's some disappointment there, but that's sort of a risk you take when you're signing any pitcher," assistant general manager Fred Uhlman Jr. told the San Diego Union Tribune earlier this month, before Morrow decided on the surgery. "He's optimistic that it wasn't terrible news, and that it's something he can take care of either through rehab or surgery and should be fine, ready to go, for spring training."

Morrow was 1-3 with a 5.67 ERA with Toronto in 2014, when he missed the majority of the season with a finger injury.

Assistant GM Josh Stein told MLB.com that it wouldn't be out of the question to re-sign Morrow, who will be a free agent after the season. Morrow signed a one-year, $2.5 million deal with the Padres in December.

"We acquired him knowing there was a risk of an injury," Stein told MLB.com. "The contract was structured to take that into account. I wouldn't say there's not an opportunity for us to explore something similar moving forward."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.