Minor-league pitcher Stephen Fife will undergo Tommy John surgery today, the Dodgers announced.
The ligament-replacement surgery will be performed by Dr. Neal ElAttrache in Los Angeles. The standard timeframe for return is 14-18 months.
Fife went 2-2 with a 6.34 earned-run average in 12 games (10 starts) for Triple-A Albuquerque this season. He made one spot start for the Dodgers, allowing four runs in six innings against the Miami Marlins in May.
In 2013, a season interrupted repeatedly by shoulder bursitis, Fife was 4-4 with a respectable 3.86 ERA in 12 games (10 starts) for the Dodgers.
Update (4:00 p.m.): Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said that injuries prevented Fife from being in more than one spot-starter discussion this year. “There haven’t been a whole lot of times where we looked and he’s been healthy down there,” Mattingly said. “That was our only time. I think the other time was between him and Red (Patterson) with Minnesota, and Minnesota’s a team that just takes and makes you throw the ball over (the plate). Red’s more of a strike-thrower than Fife.”