BRADENTON, Fla. - Catcher J.R. House, once considered the top prospect in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization, has damage to his right labrum and rotator cuff and faces season-ending surgery.

"It doesn't look good," House said Sunday. "It's something that has been bothering me for a long time. I'm looking forward to getting it fixed and hopefully I can come back better than I was before."

House said he has multiple tears in his labrum and a 30-percent tear in his rotator cuff. His agent, Dan Lozano, thinks surgery is inevitable and will be scheduled Tuesday or Wednesday.

"The doctors think he should be ready to play this winter and be 100-percent healthy for spring training next year," Lozano said.

The shoulder problems were detected when House took his physical before spring training. He will have a second opinion Monday when he meets with Dr. James Andrews in Birmingham, Ala.

House said the injury is chronic and has bothered him since his scholastic days when he was a dual-sport star. In the fall, he was a record-setting quarterback at Nitro High School in West Virginia. In the spring, he transferred to Seabreeze High School in Ormond Beach, Fla., where he was a standout baseball player.

House signed a letter of intent to play football at West Virginia University before signing with the Pirates, who selected him in the fifth round of the 1999 draft.

House was rated as the organization's best hitter prior to the 2001-02 seasons, but his career has been sidetracked by numerous injuries. In 2001, he was on the disabled list twice with strained ribcage muscles. In 2002, he had surgeries to repair an abdominal muscle pull and hernia. At the end of that season, he underwent reconstructive surgery on his right elbow and didn't play in the minors again until August 2003.

House remained relatively healthy last season although he did spend 10 days on the disabled list with a left knee sprain. He batted .288 with 15 homers and 49 RBI in 92 games at Class AAA Nashville and was called up by the Pirates on two occasions, making his first major-league start July 22 in Atlanta.

"This stinks because I know I can play at that level," House said.

The Pirates sent House to the Arizona Fall League to work on his defense and throwing. The shoulder injury didn't resurface until two months ago when House was playing winter ball in the Dominican Republic.

"I was able to get away with it and still play," House said. "It's gotten to the point where I can't get it done anymore."

Notes:

Left-hander Oliver Perez, who hasn't thrown off the mound in camp, played catch Sunday and is being eased back into activity after sleeping awkwardly on his throwing shoulder. Manager Lloyd McClendon said the organization is purposely being cautious with Perez and expects him to throw off the mound in a few days. "He's not behind," McClendon said. ... Todd Ritchie had the best time among the second group of pitchers that completed the mile run. He finished in 6 minutes, 21 seconds Sunday, beating Ryan Vogelsong by two seconds. ... Non-roster pitchers Joe Roa (lower back) and Kirk Bullinger (hamstring) did not participate in their scheduled throwing sessions Sunday.