New York Yankees center fielder Aaron Hicks will have Tommy John surgery on his throwing elbow next week and is expected to miss eight to 10 months.
Yankees general manager Brian Cashman announced Thursday that Hicks will have the operation Wednesday by Dr. Neil ElAttrache in Los Angeles.
"He's getting Tommy John because he needs it," Cashman said. "That's the bottom line. Obviously, he was feeling it regardless of getting back. I think we tried to address this in the past, but you know when he had the in-season injury, there was a rest and rehab process that was put in play. That process failed because the pain immediately came back."
Cashman also revealed that right-hander Masahiro Tanaka recently underwent arthroscopic surgery to have bone spurs removed from his pitching elbow and that first baseman Luke Voit had surgery to repair a core muscle injury.
Tanaka and Voit are expected to be ready for spring training, according to Cashman.
The Yankees' expected timeline is not as optimistic for Hicks, who missed nearly two months near the end of the season with what the team described as a flexor injury near his elbow.
Hicks and the Yankees both said at the time that Tommy John surgery was a possibility, but the veteran outfielder opted against the operation and returned to the club for the American League Championship Series against the Houston Astros.
He went just 2-for-13 in the series against the Astros, but his three-run homer against Justin Verlander in Game 5 helped the Yankees avoid elimination and force a Game 6 in Houston.
"He played great in the postseason for us obviously," Cashman said. "But once it ended, the feeling of, there's something here that's still not right, the follow-up doctor exam was, again, led to the ultimate decision we have to get this thing fixed or it's just going to blow."
Hicks, 30, batted .235 with 12 homers in 59 games this season as he struggled with injuries to his back and elbow. The 2020 season marks the first year of a seven-year, $70 million extension Hicks signed in February.
ESPN's Marly Rivera contributed to this report.