ATLANTA — Braves pitcher Tom Glavine is out for the season, and his illustrious career could be over if he needs major surgery on his injured left elbow.
The 42-year-old Glavine still hopes to return next year — unless he needs elbow ligament replacement surgery.
Glavine, placed on the disabled list Friday with a torn flexor tendon in his left elbow, plans to have surgery to repair the tendon.
A 300-game winner, Glavine said Saturday he will be examined by Dr. James Andrews next week in Alabama. He said he’d give up his comeback hopes for 2009 if Andrews determines the pitcher needs the ligament replacement procedure, known as Tommy John surgery. Rehabilitation after that procedure often takes at least a year.
A two-time NL Cy Young Award winner with Atlanta, Glavine gave up seven runs in four innings against the Chicago Cubs on Thursday in his first start since June 10. He is 2-4 with a 5.54 ERA in 13 games this season, and 305-203 in his career.
Glavine said his elbow began to stiffen in the fourth inning against the Cubs.
“I know it’s not going to get any better,” he said. “Clearly it’s not going to hold up under the stress of me going out there every five days and throwing a lot of pitches.”
Glavine pitched for Atlanta from 1987-2002 and won 20 games or more five times. Glavine turned down a $13 million option with the Mets to sign an $8 million deal with the Braves for 2008.
YANKEES: Yankees manager Joe Girardi was optimistic Saturday that injured right-hander Joba Chamberlain could be back soon, but a timetable still hasn’t been set.
The same goes for designated hitter Hideki Matsui, who homered in Class A Tampa’s doubleheader Friday. Matsui went 1-for-3, including a line drive single to right, and a walk in his third rehab game for Tampa on Saturday night.
Matsui is scheduled to take part in a simulated game Sunday and then return to New York, raising the possibility he might rejoin the team for a road trip that starts Tuesday in Toronto.
GIANTS: Giants left-hander Jonathan Sanchez was scratched from his start against the Atlanta Braves on Saturday and placed on the 15-day disabled list because of a strained left shoulder. The move was made retroactive to Tuesday.
Matt Palmer, who was already on the roster, made his major league debut as San Francisco’s fill-in starter. The right-hander was promoted from Triple-A Fresno on Thursday.
Sanchez was 8-9 with a 4.53 ERA and 133 strikeouts in 135 innings. Giants manager Bruce Bochy said Sanchez felt tightness in his shoulder during batting practice on Friday and was examined by Dr. Xavier Duralde, one of the Braves’ physicians.
REDS: Yonder Alonso accepted the Reds’ offer worth $4.55 million shortly before the Friday midnight deadline. The offer was less than he had wanted, but Alonso opted to sign instead of going back to the University of Miami for his senior year or heading to New York to live in Alex Rodriguez’s apartment and play in an independent league, biding his time until next June’s amateur draft.
“I’ll tell you what: I had my fall (college) schedule and my (independent league) contract next to me,” Alonso said Saturday evening. “So I had both in my hands yesterday. I was definitely prepared.”
DODGERS: The Los Angeles Times is reporting that the Dodgers have agreed to sell their Vero Beach minor league franchise for close to $3.5 million, according to a source who declined to be identified because the buyer has not yet made an announcement.
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