Angels' Escobar to have season-ending surgery

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Los Angeles Angels pitcher Kelvim Escobar will have season-ending surgery on his injured right shoulder, the Major League Baseball team said on Friday.

No date had been set for the operation, but the team said he could take up to a year to recover.

Escobar, who won 18 games in 2007, experienced shoulder pain last year and during pre-season training, where he had an MRI and began rehabilitation. He had not played this season, but had been expected to return sometime this year.

However, a training session last week aggravated the injury and two doctors diagnosed a torn labrum and recommended surgery, Angels general manager Tony Reagins told reporters.

"They both agreed as to the extent of the injury," Reagins said. "They're going to go in there, make the necessary repairs.

"Just as a matter of practice, surgery is the last option, and that's where we are."

(Reporting by Jahmal Corner; Editing by Greg Stutchbury)