PITTSBURGH (93-7 The FAN) — Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Charlie Morton is done for the season.

He underwent Tommy John surgery Thursday and is expected to be out for at least a year — possibly as long as 18 months.

According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Morton saw doctors this week regarding his elbow and he and the organization eventually got the final word that Tommy John surgery was necessary.

“Picture a rope that, over time, a little piece of the string breaks, a little piece of the string breaks, a little piece of the string breaks,” Huntington said. “We just got to a point in time where it was no longer functional.”

Morton is not on the Pirates current road trip. He was placed on the disabled list June 2 and hasn’t thrown since aggravating his elbow in a bullpen session on Sunday.

While most pitchers return from Tommy John surgery with no problems, Morton’s Pirates career is surely in doubt.

Huntington says the organization plans to address this problem internally. Brad Lincoln is expected to start Sunday and Jeff Karstens should be returning to the rotation soon as long as everything goes well as he rehabs a hip injury.

There are options at Triple-A Indianapolis as well.

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Chris Gates | Bucs Blog
Twitter.com/Chris_Gates
Chris.Gates@cbsradio.com