Yankees right-hander Chase Whitley will have Tommy John surgery

NEW YORK -- Yankees starter Chase Whitley will have Tommy John surgery on Tuesday, which will force him to be out of action for at least a year.

The 25-year-old right-hander left his start Thursday night with elbow pain that he said had been bothering him for a while.

Whitley is 5-5 with a 5.02 ERA in his two years in the majors. Last year, Whitley started off his career in style, going 3-0 with a 2.56 ERA in his first seven starts, but is just 1-2 with a 4.19 ERA this season.

Without Whitley, Chris Capuano is back in a Yankees rotation that currently features Michael Pineda, CC Sabathia, Nathan Eovaldi and Adam Warren.

The Yankees hope pitchers Masahiro Tanaka and Ivan Nova can both make their returns soon.

Tanaka, on the DL with a mild right forearm strain and tendinitis, made some progress Monday by throwing 29 pain-free pitches during a bullpen session at Nationals Park.

The team is expected to announce a minor league rehab start for Tanaka later in the week, and he could rejoin the major league team by the end of the month.

While Tanaka was able to avoid Tommy John surgery last season after a small tear in the ulnar collateral ligament of his right elbow was found, Nova was not so lucky.

The Yankees are hoping that Nova can return next month after being out since undergoing surgery last April to repair his UCL.