"He's not to pick up a ball until January or February of next year and will not pitch in 2010," Wade said.
Hampton, 37, went 7-10 with a 5.30 ERA in 21 starts this year for the Astros, who signed him to a one-year, $2 million contract in the offseason. Various injuries, especially Tommy John elbow ligament replacement surgery, limited the left-hander to just 25 Major League starts from 2005-08.
Hampton said recently he also wants to have arthroscopic surgery on both knees at some point in the offseason.
"Obviously, he was trying to battle through all these issues that he's got and plus he's got the knees, and we haven't talked about that yet," Wade said. "It's unfortunate."
Wade said Hampton will likely join the team next week in Houston.]]>