Indians’ center fielder Grady Sizemore will miss rest of season with elbow injury

Indians’ Sizemore to miss rest of season

CLEVELAND — Cleveland Indians center fielder Grady Sizemore will miss the remainder of the season because of soreness in his left elbow that will require arthroscopic surgery.

The procedure will take place next week at the Cleveland Clinic.

Sizemore has been bothered by the elbow since early May. He was on the disabled list from May 31-June 23 and has played through the pain since.

Indians head athletic trainer Lonnie Soloff said Sizemore will also undergo lower abdominal surgery a week after the elbow operation. Sizemore said it’s the same groin injury that forced him out of the World Baseball Classic in March. He has played with the injury all season.

Sizemore expects to be fully recovered when he reports to spring training in February.

“I should be in good shape by the start of camp,” he said.

Convincing Sizemore to shut it down wasn’t easy. He played in 162 games in both the 2006 and 2007 seasons and appeared in 157 games last season.

“If he had his way, he’d play all the way through,” Indians manager Eric Wedge said. “This is the right time to do it. This way we’re not taking any chances on next year.”

The injuries affected the three-time All-Star. A .279 career hitter going into the season, Sizemore was batting .248 with 18 home runs and 64 RBIs. He had 13 stolen bases after swiping 33 in 2007 and 38 last season.

“I knew going into the season it was going to be a tough year,” Sizemore said. “You’d like to be injury free. I knew it was going to be a battle.”

The Indians waited to make the decision even though they fell out of contention in the AL Central early in the season.

“He was a little bit banged up,” Wedge said. “He wants to play. We’re a better team with him out there. We took it as far as we felt we could.”

Losing Sizemore is yet another down note in what has been a disappointing season for a team that had high expectations. The Indians stumbled to a slow start and never recovered, leading to several trades that dramatically cut the team’s payroll.

Left-hander Cliff Lee, last season’s Cy Young Award winner, and catcher Victor Martinez were traded in July. Third baseman Mark DeRosa, first baseman Ryan Garko, left fielder Ben Francisco and reliever Rafael Betancourt were also dealt.

Rookie Michael Brantley, acquired last season in the trade that sent ace pitcher CC Sabathia to Milwaukee, played center field and batted leadoff Friday night against Minnesota. Trevor Crowe, who has been out with a strained oblique, was activated from the disabled list prior to the game.

The Indians also purchased the contract of left-hander Mike Gosling from Triple-A Columbus on Friday. He had no record with a 6.75 ERA in seven appearances earlier this season.