ST. LOUIS (AP) — Cardinals left-hander Jaime Garcia will undergo thoracic outlet surgery Friday to relieve nerve issues in his pitching arm, shoulder and hand. General manager John Mozeliak said Tuesday that Garcia considered the operation his last viable option. The announcement was made on Garcia’s 28th birthday.

The Cardinals had already ruled Garcia out for the year and were initially surprised by the pitcher’s decision to have the procedure instead of exhausting other treatment options. Garcia is having the surgery done by Dr. Robert Thompson of St. Louis.

Garcia also consulted with Gregory Pearl, who did the same surgery on former teammate Chris Carpenter. The surgery wasn’t a long-term success from a baseball standpoint for Carpenter, who retired at age 38 after pitching just six more games.