Jake Westbrook News!

[KingFish]

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. (AP) _ Indians right-hander Jake Westbrook had arthroscopic surgery on his right elbow at Lutheran Medical Center in Cleveland.

Westbrook, expected to battle for the fifth spot in the Indians' starting rotation, was operated on Tuesday. The doctors performed a transposition of the ulnar never and repaired some minor spurring, the Indians said Wednesday.

The 24-year-old reported soreness in his right elbow after one day of throwing last week. He will return to spring training next week to begin a rehabilitation program. He is expected to begin throwing in six weeks.

Westbrook went 4-4 with a 5.58 ERA in 23 games with the Indians in 2001 after going 8-1 at Triple-A Buffalo. He was acquired from the Yankees with two other players on July 25, 2000, in a deal that sent outfielder David Justice to the New York Yankees.

Westbrook is with his fourth organization. Selected by Colorado in the first round of the 1996 amateur draft, he was dealt to Montreal in 1997 and to the Yankees in 1999.


Note: The following stories are the most recent wire transmissions from SportsTicker and other ESPN.com sources. Versions of some of these stories appear elsewhere on the service.

[KingFish]

Jake Westbrook underwent surgery yesterday to remove his ulnar nerve and bone spurs in his right elbow, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer. He can begin a throwing program in about six weeks.