Furcal to have Tommy John surgery, out for season

The Cardinals placed shortstop Rafael Furcal on the 15 day disabled list yesterday with an apparently elbow injury. Today, Furcal's MRI confirmed that the injury is a a torn UCL ligament in his elbow that will force him to miss the remainder of the season. Fellow shortstop Pete Kozma has been recalled from Triple-A.

Furcal left Thursday night's game at Washington early after he felt a pop in his elbow. Furcal has hit .264 wit 5 homers and 49 RBI in 121 games with St. Louis this season. He made the All-Star team back in July.

Analysis: Tough blow for the Cardinals. Furcal has been pretty good this season and his defense and speed are hard to replace. Now the club will have to rely on internal options like Pete Kozma to fill in for the final month of the season. St. Louis could perhaps make a trade to acquire a shortstop but keep in mind that if they acquire someone, that player cannot play in the post-season with them.