Major League Baseball

DeJesus to have thumb surgery

Published Jul. 23, 2010 1:00 a.m. ET

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David DeJesus will have surgery to repair a torn tendon in his right thumb and the Kansas City Royals outfielder will miss at least 10 weeks.

DeJesus sprained his right thumb crashing into the fence in center field Thursday night in Yankee Stadium, a play that resulted in an inside-the-park homer for Derek Jeter. The Royals initially called the injury a sprain Friday when he was placed on the disabled list. But DeJesus saw a specialist in Cleveland and it was determined he would have surgery Monday.

''We lost two pretty good hitters yesterday,'' Royals manager Ned Yost said of DeJesus and Alberto Callaspo, who was traded to the Angels on Thursday for right-hander Sean O'Sullivan and a minor-league pitcher.

DeJesus was batting .318 with five homers and 37 RBIs this season and was the subject of trade rumors as the July 31 deadline approached.

''He's had a great year, at a really high level,'' Yost said. ''An all-around player of his caliber is rare.''

The Royals recalled outfielder Alex Gordon from Triple-A Omaha on Friday and inserted him into the lineup as the right fielder against the Yankees.

Gordon was sent to Ohama in early May to convert him to an outfielder. Gordon's glove at third base was considered a plus when he was drafted No. 2 overall in 2005 out of Nebraska. But has made 44 errors in 329 major-league games at third, including four in 10 games this year.

The 26-year-old Gordon was hitting .315 with 14 home runs and 44 RBIs in 68 games for Omaha. He practiced playing balls off the wall in right field earlier Friday.

Kansas City also designated Anthony Lerew for assignment to make room for O'Sullivan, who will make his second start in five days Sunday against the Yankees. On Tuesday, O'Sullivan gave up two hits and two runs in six innings in his first start of the season for the Angels.

''He's going to have to make adjustments, like (the Yankees) are going to have to make adjustments for him,'' Yost said.

O'Sullivan posted a 2.08 ERA in 13 innings for the Angels. The 22-year-old was one of the Angels' top pitching prospects.

''Just take it one pitch at a time,'' he said about facing the Yankees again.

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