Alex Rodriguez needs surgery, could miss part of 2013 season

Alex Rodriguez is expected to miss a portion of the 2013 season and will likely require surgery after injuring his left hip, according to Newsday's Erik Boland.

Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal tweets that the injury occurred before the playoffs, causing such severe pain that Rodriguez took pain medication throughout the playoffs and had to spend a night in the emergency room after a game in the American League Division Series.

Rodriguez is expected to have the surgery in January, according to Rosenthal, and will 3-6 months to recover following a "pre-hab" period. That means he could miss only a few games or not return until midseason -- if all goes well.

The New York Post first reported that Rodriguez would need a second hip surgery Monday morning, but that report said it was a re-tear of his right hip muscle.

He initially underwent surgery on his right hip before the 2009 season, and missed the first month of that season.

After an unspectacular regular season that was marred in part by a hand injury, Rodriguez became the object of fan derision as he batted .125 in the ALDS against the Orioles and then .111 in the AL Championship Series against Detroit. He didn't hit a home run or drive in a run and was benched several times.

The newly revealed injury could explain Rodriguez's sudden dropoff in the playoffs. But age could also be a factor for the 37-year-old third baseman, who hasn't played more than 138 games since 2007.

Rodriguez's injury, coupled with Derek Jeter's recovery from a broken ankle, makes the left side of the Yankees' infield a question mark. The Yankees have been linked to infielders such as Marco Scutaro, Jeff Keppinger and Stephen Drew this offseason, and that was before Rodriguez's news broke.

The Yankees are currently trying to replace Nick Swisher in right field, Russell Martin at catcher and build depth on their bench in what has become an increasingly long winter shopping list.