Mike Sweeney Oakland A’s DH and first baseman Mike Sweeney will have surgery on his left knee.  While many Royals’ fans were disappointed to hear the Royals weren’t going to re-sign, I said good riddance.

Sweeney will be 35 next month and I could never understand why Royals’ fans were disappointed to see him leave.  He’s was nothing but a liability the last four years.  With Sweeney it wasn’t a question of if, but when Sweeney would get hurt with either a knee or back issue.  This is the sixth straight year that Sweeney has been on the DL.

When Sweeney first came up through the ranks he looked as though he would be a power hitter the Royals could build around.  In his first three full seasons Sweeney played in 456 games and hit 70 home runs and drove in 345 runs and appeared in three straight All-star games.  Over the next seven seasons, Sweeney played in just 200 more games, hits just 100 home runs and drove in just 248 runs.  In the last three seasons, Sweeney has never played over 70 games.

Many thought it was a bad move to let fan favorite Sweeney get away and while he is no doubt a class act, injuries have taken a toll on the veteran.  The A’s took a chance looking for a veteran bat as they try to keep pace with the Angels in an otherwise weak AL West, but it appears that may have backfired on Oakland.

It will be at least four weeks before Sweeney begins baseball activity.