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Cordova to undergo elbow surgery

Orioles outfielder Marty Cordova will undergo ligament reconstruction surgery on his right elbow next week, ending a frustrating season in which he played only nine games.

Cordova started for Baltimore on opening day, but soon experienced elbow problems and was placed on the disabled list on April 23. The next day he underwent arthroscopic surgery to have bone chips removed from his throwing arm.

The procedure and ensuing rehabilitation program failed to fully restore motion in the elbow, leaving him no choice but to have ``Tommy John'' surgery.


``It's something that needed to be done. We tried to avoid it with rehab, but it just wasn't working,'' Orioles manager Mike Hargrove said. ``I think this was the only way to go.''

Elbow reconstruction surgery can sideline a pitcher for a year, but a position player does not need as much recovery time.

``He may be able to initiate some baseball activities in spring training,'' Orioles trainer Richie Bancells said Thursday.

Dr. Lewis Yocum will perform the operation in Los Angeles on Wednesday, and Cordova will continue rehabilitation near his home in Las Vegas.

Cordova, 34, is in the second year of a three-year contract with the Orioles. He receives $3.1 million this season, meaning he was paid an average of $344,444.44 for each of the nine games he played.

He hit .233 with one homer and four RBIs.

In other injury news, outfielder Melvin Mora hopes to come off the disabled list in two-to-four days after spending much of the past two months trying to shake a hand injury. It no longer hurts when he throws or hits outside pitches, but he's not quite at 100 percent.

``When the ball is inside, it's sore when I swing,'' he said. ``I'm able to hit to right field, but when I try to stay inside it hurts.''

Mora has a strained ligament in his right hand, the result of being hit by a pitch from Greg Maddux on June 20. He played some after that, but was placed on the DL retroactive to Aug. 1.