Oakland A's starter Chris Bassitt will undergo Tommy John surgery

The A's announced that starter Chris Bassitt will undergo surgery to replace the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. The Tommy John surgery, Bassitt's first, will take place in Cincinnati on Friday. Bassitt was already in Cincinnati to get a second opinion from orthopedic surgeon Dr. Timothy Kremchek.

The recovery period for Tommy John surgery is around 12-18 months. Bassitt last pitched on April 28, going just four innings. As a starter, Bassitt owns a career 4.16 ERA with 98 strikeouts and 47 walks in 132 innings and 23 starts.

The A's will soldier on with what has been a fortuitously deep roster of starting pitchers after Jarrod Parker and Felix Doubront were also lost for the season with elbow issues. Doubront had his first Tommy John surgery performed last month by Dr. Kremchek. Dr. Neal ElAttrache of Los Angeles performed elbow surgery on Parker in March after Parker re-fractured his medial epicondyle during a spring training pitching session.

Last week, Oakland called up top pitching prospect Sean Manaea and recalled Jesse Hahn to take the rotation spots of Bassitt and an underperforming Eric Surkamp. Henderson Alvarez is on track to complete his rehab assignment and start against the New York Yankees on May 20. Alvarez will make his fourth minor league rehab start tonight, his second for the Nashville Sounds, and will be permitted to go up to 75 pitches and five innings.