Utley Out Until June

World Champion second baseman Chase Utley will require surgery on his right hip, according to ESPN.

The injury is expected to take around 3-4 months to heal, at which point he can begin baseball activities. That would leave his return possible for Opening Day. While it would obviously hurt to have Utley out of the line up, baseball is a marathon and not a sprint. The Phillies need to hold Utley out until he is without question 100%. If they want to repeat as champions, they will need him in the lineup. It is better he misses games at the beginning then the end, since the Phillies never start off good anyway.

ESPN says this could mean the resigning of Tadahito Iguchi, who has played with the Phillies over the last two seasons. They also could make prospect Jason Donald, a shortstop, a second basemen.