Print edition: 
In the end, it took a torn rotator cuff in his throwing shoulder to knock ironman catcher Jason Kendall out of the Royals’ lineup.
Kendall, 36, is scheduled to undergo season-ending surgery Friday on his right shoulder after a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) exam earlier this week revealed extensive tearing in his rotator cuff.
The typical recovery period for such injuries is eight to 10 months.
“We’re hoping to have him back by the spring,” manager Ned Yost said. “We can get him through spring training, we hope, and have him ready for opening day.”
The injury means the Royals will close the season with backup Brayan Peña and rookie Lucas May splitting the catching duties. May was recalled Wednesday from Class AAA Omaha.
Kendall departed early Wednesday afternoon for Los Angeles, where Dr. Neal S. ElAllatrache of the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic will perform the procedure.
ElAllatrache is the Dodgers’ head team physician.
Kendall, 36, leads all catchers this season in games, games started and innings played. He finishes the season with a .256 average in 118 games. He had 18 doubles but no triples or homers while driving in 37 runs.
Yost said Kendall suffered the injury July 17 against Oakland on a slide while stealing second base. Kendall responded, initially, to a cortisone shot before aggravating the injury in early August on a check swing in Oakland.
“He got to the point where he couldn’t even raise his arm,” Yost said. “He got to the point where he had to take his glove and push his arm back into a throwing position – and he was still throwing runners out.
“It just shows you the mentality and the mental makeup of Jason Kendall. He would have played the rest of this year if the training staff hadn’t hog-tied him and made him have an MRI.”
Kendall is in the first season of a two-year, $6 million deal signed last December as a free agent. He recently said he hoped to play several more years. He is a 15-year veteran and one of only five players to catch in 2,000 games in a career.
“We decided now is the time to do it,” Yost said, “so it gets him ready to go, hopefully, by the end of spring training.”
Peña, 28, started Wednesday for the fourth straight game. He carried a .195 average in the game but had only 77 at-bats in 36 games. He batted .273 last season in 165 at-bats in 64 games.
May, 25, batted .275 in 24 games at Omaha after joining the organization as part of a July 28 trade that sent veteran outfielder Scott Podsednik to the Dodgers. May batted .283 overall this season in 104 games for three minor-league clubs with 16 homers and 59 RBIs.
“We get to see Brayan Peña,” Yost said. “And we get to see Lucas May and evaluate his talents and abilities behind the plate. He’s a converted (infielder), so he’s not going to be extremely polished. But he’s a guy who has a chance to be a pretty decent receiver.”
