Texas Rangers ace Yu Darvish has decided to undergo season-ending Tommy John surgery.
The team announced Friday that Darvish will undergo ligament reconstruction surgery on his right elbow. The surgery will be performed Tuesday by Dr. James Andrews in Pensacola, Fla.
The right-handed Darvish left his first Cactus League start on March 5 against the Kansas City Royals after one inning with tightness in his right triceps. An MRI and examination by Rangers team physician Dr. Keith Meister the following day indicated that Darvish has a sprain of the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow.
Darvish was examined in New York on Tuesday by New York Mets medical director Dr. David Altchek, who concurred with Meister’s recommendation for surgery.
Darvish, 28, will meet with Andrews on Monday in advance of Tuesday morning’s surgery. He will return to the Rangers’ spring training camp in Surprise, Ariz., following the procedure to begin his rehab program and is expected to continue his rehab in Arlington, Texas, once the regular season begins.
An All-Star in each of his three seasons since coming to Texas from Japan, Darvish started last season on the disabled list after experiencing neck stiffness in spring training. He was limited to 22 starts last season, going 10-7 with a 3.06 ERA. He was outstanding in the first half of the season, starting 7-2. But he was 3-5 after June 11 and made his final appearance of the season on Aug. 9, missing the last seven weeks with mild inflammation in the right elbow.
The Rangers signed Darvish to a six-year, $56 million contract that runs through the 2017 season. He will make $10 million this season, although the Rangers will recover a portion of that through insurance, according to MLB.com.
Darvish is 39-25 in 83 starts for the Rangers, with 680 strikeouts in 545 1/3 innings. He led the majors with 277 strikeouts in 2013.