The White Sox announced Sunday that Thorpe will undergo season-ending surgery Saturday in San Francisco to remove a bone spur in his right elbow, Scott Merkin of MLB.com reports.
On the shelf since Aug. 2 with what the White Sox had labeled as a right flexor strain, Thorpe appeared to be gearing up for a late-season return after he began a throwing program in mid-August. Thorpe never advanced beyond playing catch before the bone spur was detected in his elbow, and while the issue isn't a significant one, he'll opt to treat the injury with surgery rather than attempting to pitch through it. Thorpe is expected to be fully cleared in advance of spring training, when he'll look to solidify a spot in the White Sox's Opening Day rotation. The 23-year-old righty went 3-3 with a 5.48 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and 25:21 K:BB in 44.1 innings over his first nine big-league starts before landing on the injured list.