MILWAUKEE (AP) – St. Louis right-hander Jason Motte will have season-ending Tommy John surgery next week.  The nominal closer for the Cardinals was placed on the disabled list on March 29, and eventually diagnosed with a torn ligament in his right elbow. He had been rehabbing and playing catch in an effort to avoid surgery but on Friday, a throwing session resulted in discomfort and it was decided that Motte would have the ligament replacement operation.

Motte emerged as the Cardinals’ closer late in the 2011 season, throwing eight scoreless innings with four saves against Philadelphia and Milwaukee in the NLDS and NLCS, respectively before going 0-1 with a 6.23 ERA during the World Series.