Los Angeles Angels pitcher C.J. Wilson will undergo arthroscopic surgery to remove bone spurs from his left elbow.
Wilson revealed that he needs the surgery following Monday's game against the Seattle Mariners, claiming that he has been pitching with the injury for "the last couple of months."
"I tried to make a million adjustments to get around it, to the point where now I'm standing on the first-base side, trying to get an angle because I can't throw sinkers anymore because my arm doesn't work right," Wilson told reporters. "But you're paid to go out there and play."
Wilson, 31, did not specify when he will have the surgery but indicated that it will take place soon. Despite their 8-4 victory Monday over the Mariners, the Angels were eliminated from postseason contention when the Oakland Athletics defeated the Texas Rangers, clinching the American League's final playoff spot.
Wilson told reporters that Dr. Lewis Yocum will perform the surgery, referring to the procedure as "a quick visit." The left-hander expects to be ready for spring training in 2013 and also stated that he recovered quickly after experiencing a similar injury in 2008.
"I bounced back pretty well the last couple of years after that," Wilson said. "So I'm looking at that with a lot of optimism."
Wilson went 13-10 with a 3.83 ERA this season with the Angels, who signed the two-time All-Star to a five-year, $77.5 million contract last December. He struggled to a 5.54 ERA in 16 starts after the All-Star break this season.
"It's one of those things where you push yourself through anything because your job is to go out there and pitch," said Wilson, who pitched 6 1/3 innings to record the win Monday. "The coaching staff and the training staff have been really great to help me to try to come up with adjustments and try to figure out if there's anything we can do. But bone's not muscle, so there's really one way to get it taken care of."
An eight-year veteran, Wilson has pitched over 200 innings each of the past three seasons after serving as a reliever with the Rangers in the beginning of his career.