After failing to overcome numbness in his pitching hand, Dodgers righty Josh Beckett has elected to undergo season-ending surgery, tweets Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times. According to Hernandez, colleague Bill Shaikin, and CBSSports.com's Jon Heyman (links to Twitter), Beckett will undergo thoracic outlet surgery to relieve pressure on a compressed nerve in his neck.
Beckett's injury reportedly had the 33-year-old hurler contemplating retirement, but according to Hernandez he is expected to be ready for spring training next year. A former ace, Beckett has failed to rediscover his form since being shipped to the Dodgers in their post-trade deadline mega-deal with the Red Sox. Although he was strong down the stretch for L.A. last year, registering a 2.93 ERA in 43 innings, his start to 2013 saw a reversion to his early-2012 struggles. In 43 1/3 innings for the Dodgers before he was shut down, Beckett threw to a 5.19 ERA.
With Beckett no longer a candidate to bolster the Dodgers' rotation, the club may be even more inclined to explore the market for an outside addition. Though the team's top three rotation spots are well manned by Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke, and Hyun-jin Ryu, the back of the Los Angeles staff is filled with question marks. Regardless of what they do on the trade market, the Dodgers owe Beckett the remainder of his $15.75MM salary for 2013 and another $15.75MM for 2014.
