Johan Santana undergoes 'successful' surgery, plans to pitch again

Johan Santana underwent successful surgery Tuesday and plans to be back on the mound. (Chris Trotman/Getty Images)

New York Mets pitcher Johan Santana underwent successful surgery Tuesday morning to repair a tear in his left shoulder, according to news posted to the team's Twitter account.

The surgery took place at the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan, where he will remain overnight.

Though it's still premature to make it official, it's widely speculated that Santana's career is over. He had surgery on the same shoulder in 2010 and missed the entire 2011 season because of it. His return last season showed promise, highlighted by a game in June 2012 when he pitched the Mets' first no-hitter in franchise history. But Santana, 34, began to tail-off toward the end of the season, going 0-5 in July and August and recorded a 16.33 ERA after the All-Star break before the Mets decided to put him on the disabled list.

Chris Leible, one of Santana's agents, said in a Star-Ledger report last week that if he does go through with the surgery, "I don’t think he’s doing it to work on his water polo career.” Leible also tweeted on March 29 that Santana's plan is to be "back on the mound pitching again as soon as possible."

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