Indians shut down ailing Sizemore

Out of the playoff race, the Cleveland Indians have shut down all-star Grady Sizemore.

The centre-fielder, struggling with a .248 batting average, will have season-ending arthroscopic surgery on his sore left elbow next week at the Cleveland Clinic.

Sizemore has felt discomfort in the elbow for much of the season, most notably on throws from the outfield, and was on the disabled list from May 31-June 23. The surgery will clean out an inflamed elbow joint.

He will also undergo abdominal surgery to fix a left groin injury that kept Sizemore out of the World Baseball Classic in March and never healed.

"It's one of those things where I want to put myself in the best possible health for next year," Sizemore told MLB.com. "I'll have plenty of time to work out to get back to where I want to be."

The abdominal procedure, which will require a three-week rehabilitation, will take place in Philadelphia about one week after the elbow surgery.

"The success rates are extremely high on both [surgeries]," Indians head athletic trainer Lonnie Soloff told MLB.com.

A career .279 hitter, Sizemore has 18 home runs, 64 runs batted in and 13 stolen bases this season.

Cleveland entered play Friday fourth in the five-team American League Central Division with a 58-75 record, 14 games behind the first-place Detroit Tigers.

Losing Sizemore is yet another down note in what has been a disappointing season for a team that had high expectations. The Indians stumbled to a slow start and never recovered, leading to several trades that dramatically cut the team's payroll.

Left-hander Cliff Lee, last season's AL Cy Young Award winner, and catcher Victor Martinez were traded in July. Third baseman Mark DeRosa, first baseman Ryan Garko, left fielder Ben Francisco and reliever Rafael Betancourt were also dealt.

Rookie Michael Brantley, acquired last season in the trade that sent ace pitcher CC Sabathia to Milwaukee, played centre field and batted leadoff Friday night against Minnesota.