Sports

Zumaya tells Twins he'll have Tommy John surgery

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Mar 5, 2012 at 11:13 am

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) - Oft-injured reliever Joel Zumaya has told the Minnesota Twins he'll have reconstructive surgery on his right elbow in his latest comeback attempt.

Twins general manager Terry Ryan confirmed Sunday that Zumaya made the decision this weekend. Noted orthopedist Dr. James Andrews will perform the Tommy John ligament replacement procedure on Zumaya's throwing arm later this month.

Ryan said the Twins wanted to give Zumaya as much time as he needed to decided. He'll need a year to recover and rehabilitate.

Zumaya tore the ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow on his first bullpen session of spring training with his new team. Zumaya didn't pitch in the majors last season after recovering from a different elbow injury. He left Detroit to sign a one-year contract with the Twins for $400,000 guaranteed.