Elbow surgery for Byrd

ATLANTA, April 9 (UPI) -- Veteran righthander Paul Byrd of Atlanta will have surgery Friday to remove bone spurs from his pitching elbow.

The procedure will be performed by Dr. Craig Morgan in Wilmington, Del. He will be out 2-4 months.

In his second stint with the Braves, Byrd was scheduled to start Thursday against Philadelphia, one of his former teams.

In addition to a sore elbow, he suffered a strained groin at the end of spring training, was placed on the disabled list, and has yet to pitch for his new team.

"I'm very disappointed," Byrd said shortly after the announcement was made Wednesday afternoon. "I'm very frustrated, but I just can't throw."

In a rehabilitation start Saturday for Double-A Greenville of the Southern League, Byrd, 32, was roughed up for six runs in 4 1/3 innings.

He had the best year of his career last season, going 17-11 with a 3.90 ERA, seven complete games, and two shutouts for the Kansas City Royals. He was signed to a two-year, $10 million contract as a free agent during the offseason as the Braves retooled their vaunted rotation.

In eight seasons with the New York Mets, Philadelphia, Atlanta, and Kansas City, Byrd is 52-46 with a 4.39 ERA. He went 15-11 and made the National League All-Star team with the Phillies in 1999.

"It's tough," said Atlanta Manager Bobby Cox. "But it's the best thing to do at this point in time. It should clear his mind a little bit."

"Even though I am going to be out for a while, this does bring some relief in the fact that I know I'm going to be 100 percent when I come back," Byrd said.