Thomas Diamond to have Tommy John surgery

Richard Durrett of the Dallas Morning News is reporting that righty Thomas Diamond requires season-ending Tommy John surgery and will go under the knife Tuesday in Birmingham, Alabama.

GM Jon Daniels says Diamond first felt discomfort in his arm during his “A” game appearance on March 6th when he gave up two runs on three hits and two walks in an inning of work. He then had an MRI, and even the doctors were surprised that Diamond would need the surgery based on where they believed the discomfort was located in his pitching arm.

"You feel for Thomas," Daniels added. "He worked so hard this off-season. Fortunately, it's a surgery that has a pretty high success rate."

The club expects Daniels to be ready to pitch by the opening of spring training next year.