LOS ANGELES — Already down an ace and a $10 million setup man, the Dodgers will be without their starting catcher for the next four to six weeks.
A.J. Ellis underwent arthroscopic surgery to repair a meniscus tear in his left knee Tuesday morning. Ellis had surgery on the same knee in October 2012, and he was playing with some pain even as he started the Dodgers’ first seven games this season.
According to manager Don Mattingly, Ellis took a bad step as he was trying to score from second on a single in the seventh inning of the Dodgers’ loss to the San Francisco Giants on Saturday.
“He was really sore after that,” Mattingly said. “That was probably the last straw.”
With Ellis moved to the DL, the Dodgers promoted Tim Federowicz from Triple-A Albuquerque. Federowicz started Tuesday’s 3-2 win over the Detroit Tigers and figures to get most of the playing time in Ellis’ absence with Drew Butera sharing the starts.
“Absolutely,” Federowicz said when asked if he was ready to handle the responsibility of being the lead guy at catcher. “I’ve been ready for a while. I’m excited. It sucks because of the circumstances, but that’s how it is in this game.”
Federowicz spent the past two seasons splitting time between Triple-A and the majors as Ellis’ backup. He made 42 starts for the Dodgers last season, batting .231 overall.
“I’ve been a starting catcher my entire career, so I know what it takes,” Federowicz said. “The biggest thing is defense is first.”