Matt LaPorta was the seventh overall pick in the 2007 draft and the centerpiece of the trade package the Indians received for CC Sabathia in 2008, but his stock has dropped so much since then that he went unclaimed on waivers in November.
That was partly due to LaPorta simply not producing in the majors, but also because October hip surgery made him a big question mark for 2013. So he stayed with the Indians and now Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer writes that at least the hip is no longer a huge problem for LaPorta:He no longer wakes in the morning and wonders if he’ll be able to walk, much less play baseball. He can sleep through the night and bend over and tie his shoes if needed. The hip hurt LaPorta all last season, but he didn’t have surgery until Oct. 18. ...
October’s surgery was the second LaPorta has had on his left hip in the past three years. The first was for a torn labrum. The second removed bone fragments from the joint. “What happened was after the first surgery was that my bone, as a reaction to them going in there, grew more bone,” said LaPorta. “It’s rare, but it happens. It was like have a square peg in a round hole. It was rubbing and some pieces were breaking off. They got stuck in there and I couldn’t move my leg as freely as I would have liked.”
“My bone grew more bone” seems like it should be the leader in the clubhouse for quote of 2013. Also: Gross.
Over the weekend the Indians signed Jason Giambi to further block LaPorta’s path to regular playing time and at age 28 he’s no longer even on the 40-man roster, so he’s running out of time to carve out a big-league career.
