Carlos Gonzalez to undergo season-ending knee surgery

We’re all getting older. Carlos Gonzalez is no exception.

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At age 28 and facing season-ending knee surgery, CarGo might never be the five-tool player that he was early in his career ever again. As it is, his last two seasons have seen his power sapped by a finger injury and his speed taken away by knee tendinitis and now damage to his patella tendon.

Gonzalez might still be a good and exciting player in future seasons, but these injuries have already taken their toll on his abilities and they will continue to do so with another year in 2014 that can effectively be chalked up as a lost season.

Cody Ulm of MLB.com reports the following about the decision to have Gonzalez undergo a season-ending operation on his knee:

"One day after Troy Tulowitzki‘s season officially came to an end, the Rockies’ next injury domino fell Thursday night as the team announced Carlos Gonzalez will undergo surgery on his left patella tendon on Monday……On Thursday evening, Gonzalez sat down with the Rockies training staff as well as consulting doctors and his agent to discuss all available options. Platelet-rich plasma and stem cell treatments were also on the table, but Gonzalez said doctors informed him those procedures would only make him feel better “for a short period of time.”“Of course, this wasn’t something that I was looking for, but I know we’re looking for results,” Gonzalez said. “We’re looking to get something done so I don’t have to deal with this.”"

Gonzalez will end the season with the most disappointing numbers of his career: .238/.292/.431/.723 with 11 home runs and 38 RBI. Like Tulowitzki before him, the timing of this injury makes it highly unlikely that the Rockies trade him this off-season because his value will be in the tank. Presumably that means that team will hope for successful rehab and a fresh start with CarGo on the field and possibly healthy next season.

The Rockies will enter 2015 with Gonzalez and Tulowitzki on the roster and (hopefully) in the starting lineup. That said, this organization has to change the plan around those guys, because hoping for a run to glory keyed by those two superstars is no longer an acceptable plan.