Pitchers and catchers have not yet reported to training camp, and already the Mets are dealing with major players having to miss the start of the season.

Carlos Beltran had surgery on his troublesome right knee Wednesday and the All-Star center fielder will miss the start of the season. His decision to have the operation also sparked a dispute about whether he had received permission from the team, and perhaps whether the surgery was needed.

Beltran’s agent, Scott Boras, said the guarantee language in the slugger’s contract requires advance written permission only for elective operations.

“This was necessary surgery, necessary surgery to work,” Boras told The Associated Press.

The Mets might claim that the operation was elective.

There’s no way any of this ends well or smoothly.  After all, it is the Mets we’re talking about.  First off, Beltran isn’t really a pillar of health and injuries tend to really linger when it comes to this guy, so I’m going to say right now that he misses at least 16 weeks instead of the 12 that everyone is reporting right now.  For a normal player undergoing knee surgery, 12 weeks sounds about right.  But Beltran has to be graded on a vagina curve, and that adds about an extra month to his recovery time.  Mark my words, there’s no chance he’s ready in 12 weeks.

But maybe the bigger issue here – and there’s no way this just goes away, either – is that the Mets weren’t informed that Beltran underwent surgery in the first place.  And I’m gonna side with the Mets on this one in that the surgery was elective.  You’re not fooling anyone, Boras – “necessary to work” is the same thing as elective, douchebag.  I’m pretty sure “necessary” surgeries cover emergencies, like if Beltran’s water broke and he needed a C-section.  The type of person to call knee surgery “necessary” is the type who would call 911 because McDonald’s screwed up his order and claim that it was an emergency.

It’s going to be a long season, Mets fans.  Enjoy 4th place.

[ESPN.com]