TORONTO -- Dustin Ackley will have season-ending surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder, Yankees manager Joe Girardi said on Tuesday.
Ackley injured his shoulder diving back into first base in the sixth inning of the Yankees' 2-1 victory over the Rays on Sunday at Tropicana Field. An MRI taken in Tampa, Fla., revealed the tear, and the 28-year-old saw team physician Christopher Ahmad on Tuesday in New York.
Girardi said that Ackley should be ready to play at some point early in 2017. It remains to be seen if that will be with the Yankees; Ackley is earning $3.2 million this year and is heading into his final year of arbitration, making him a non-tender candidate.
"Hopefully if he's not ready [next spring], he's close to ready," Girardi said.
The left-handed-hitting Ackley showed some pop last season after being acquired from the Mariners in late July, batting .288 with four homers and 11 RBIs, but he struggled to open the 2016 campaign. In 28 games, Ackley batted just .148 (9-for-61) with no extra-base hits and four RBIs.
Ackley had seen time at first base, second base and right field this season. Rob Refsnyder was called up from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Monday and has played both second base and right field in the Minors, while Girardi said that he is comfortable using catcher Austin Romine as Mark Teixeira's primary backup at first base.
"Right now we're going with what we have," Girardi said. "Will we have to maybe make an adjustment? Maybe."