The San Diego Padres acquired Carlos Quentin from the Chicago White Sox over the offseason in an effort to re-introduce some thunder to the lineup. Quentin was projected to bat in the middle of the order and shoulder a lot of the offensive load. Then Quentin came up with a sore knee in spring training and had to be examined, with the examination revealing a torn meniscus. That means surgery. Quentin has undergone his surgery:

#Padres OF Carlos Quentin had arthroscopic knee surgery (meniscus tear & loose cartilage removal). Expected return 4-6 weeks @scrippshealth

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) March 19, 2012

Quentin was given an initial timetable of 4-6 weeks, before the surgery, so nothing has changed. That's good news, because sometimes surgery can reveal more extensive damage than was thought to be present. As it stands, Quentin will miss the beginning of the regular season, but he won't miss that much time beyond, provided he makes a pretty smooth recovery.

Even without Quentin, the Padres have Cameron Maybin, Will Venable, Mark Kotsay, Kyle Blanks, and Chris Denorfia as outfielders on the 40-man roster. So they should get by all right while Quentin is sidelined.