A Third Option For A-Rod?

We've heard that A-Rod has two options; rest and play through it or have surgery that would put him on the shelf for four to six months. Now we learn about a third option from the NY Times:

The Alex Rodriguez medical debate continued Saturday with a new option being considered between the two extremes of treatment for the torn labrum in Rodriguez’s right hip.

Rather than allowing Rodriguez to try to play with the injury this season or sidelining him for four months with surgery to correct the problem, the Yankees, Rodriguez and his doctors have discussed a limited operation before the season to repair the labrum without fixing the underlying condition, according to a person in baseball familiar with the deliberations.

The limited surgery would probably sideline Rodriguez at least four weeks and may allow him to play most of the season. But he would still need a more involved procedure at a later time to fix what caused the tear.

“It would be like using a nail instead of a steel girder to repair it,” said the person, who did not want to be identified because the conversations were confidential. “Eventually, the nail would have to be replaced with the steel girder.”

At best, the person said, this so-called hybrid option would allow Rodriguez to play for one to three years before undergoing more invasive surgery to correct the problem.

Interesting idea. If it can buy him a year at full strength and then next offseason he can have the full surgery to fix whatever problems remain then I'd go for it.

Why not? It's better than having him try to play through it, because as Cashman said, that "would be like driving a car with a bad wheel that would wobble more as time and miles went by." And it's better than having him miss four months.