Dillon Gee will undergo potentially season-ending surgery tomorrow to help make sure he doesn’t suffer another arterial clot in his right shoulder, according to a source with knowledge of the situation.
The surgery will be performed by Dr. Robert Thompson, at the Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. Gee was discharged from New York-Presbyterian hospital today.
The team acknowledged today in a statement that surgery was being considered.
And while Gee could begin throwing again in six to eight weeks, his return this season is unlikely. The 26-year-old, who is 6-7 with a 4.10 ERA in 17 starts this year, is expected to be fully healthy in time for next season and shouldn’t have problems with the shoulder in the future.
Following a solid outing Saturday, Gee felt numbness in his fingers on Sunday. A day later, tests showed the clot and doctors used a catheter to break it up.
With Gee out, the Mets recalled lefty Josh Edgin from Triple-A Buffalo and the 25-year-old will head to the bullpen in time for tomorrow’s game in Atlanta. Edgin went 3-2 with one save and a 3.89 ERA in 37 innings for Buffalo this season and also spent time with Double-A Binghamton. He pitched 10 1/2 scoreless innings with the Mets in spring training this year.
Of more immediate concern is the state of the team’s rotation, which has stayed remarkably healthy despite concerns over the health of Johan Santana and Chris Young.
Terry Collins said Young will start in place of Gee when the second half of the season opens tomorrow in Atlanta, with R.A. Dickey taking the mound Saturday. Santana is scheduled to test his ankle today to see if he’ll be ready to start Sunday.
As for Gee’s spot in the rotation, the manager also said Tuesday at the All-Star Game in Kansas City that Miguel Batista would slide in, although the Mets likely won’t need a fifth starter until July 21.
Batista may not be a long-term answer in the rotation and Gee’s prolonged absence could tempt the Mets to call up Matt Harvey.
The team has already talked about the first-round selection in the 2010 amateur draft. The right-hander, 23, is 7-4 with a 3.39 ERA in 18 starts (totaling 98 ¹/₃ innings) for Buffalo. He has struck out 102 and walked 42.
“I want to make sure he is ready,” Collins said Tuesday. “I don’t want to put a kid in a situation where he is going to fail. That’s not fair. That’s not fair to him. I talk to Wally [Backman, Buffalo manager] all the time and Wally tells me things that he thinks he’s got to work on to get better to be able to compete up here. When he tells me he’s there, then we will make a decision.”
Dickey appeared on the “Late Show with David Letterman” last night after tossing a scoreless inning in the National League’s 8-0 win over the AL in the All-Star Game.
Additional reporting by Ken Davidoff
dan.martin@nypost.com