Right handed pitcher John Lackey will undergo Tommy John surgery according to Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com. Lackey visited Dr. Lewis Yocum in California to have his right elbow checked.

Rob Bradford of WEEI.com, points out that Lackey had a vesting option at the Major League minimum ($414,000) for a sixth season if he required season-ending surgery on a pre-existing elbow condition. And this surgery will automatically make the option vest.

This season, Lackey was 12-12 with a 6.41 ERA in 160 innings throughout 28 starts for the Red Sox.

Image by Keith Allison under the Creative Commons License.