Izturis to miss 6-8 weeks

Orioles infielder Cesar Izturis has decided to undergo surgery on his right elbow to move the ulnar nerve, a procedure that will sideline him six-to-eight weeks, according to president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail. Izturis went on the disabled list today, with first baseman Brandon Snyder taking his roster spot. Signed to a $1.5 million contract over the winter, Izturis is batting .192 (5-for-26) with four runs scored in 16 games. Robert Andino received most of the starts at shortstop while J.J. Hardy was on the disabled list with a strained oblique. Izturis underwent an MRI on Monday which revealed that scar tissue in the elbow was causing numbness in two of his fingers. He was examined again today by a team physician. Izturis could have chosen to undergo surgery to remove the scar tissue or hoped that a cortisone injection would ease the discomfort. "I can't grip the ball, I can't throw," he said. Izturis said he's been dealing with this problem for a while, "but not this bad." "It hasn't been this bad, but I reached a point where we had to do something," he said. "It's constant pain." The scar tissue is related to the Tommy John surgery that Izturis underwent in 2005. "When they do Tommy John, a lot of doctors don't move the nerve for the some reason. They didn't move mine," he said.