Red Sox closer Andrew Bailey, who hasn't pitched in several days and has logged just 6.0 innings this spring, has been told he needs surgery on his injured thumb, Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe reports.
On Tuesday, Bailey will see a hand specialist in Cleveland, who will render a second opinion. At that point, a final determination will likely be made. It's not certain what kind of timetable surgery would yield, but considering the injury is to Bailey's throwing hand his absence would figure to be lengthy.
Abraham also notes that Bailey will almost certainly open the season on the DL even if surgery isn't necessary. While Bailey hasn't dealt with thumb problems before, he has lost more than 100 games to injury in his brief major-league career.
In Bailey's absence, Boston manager Bobby Valentine would likely give the save opps to Alfredo Aceves or Mark Melancon. Both, it so happens, are former Yankees.
For more baseball news, rumors and analysis, follow @EyeOnBaseball on Twitter, subscribe to the RSS feed and "like" us on Facebook.
