The Boston Red Sox announced Monday that outfielder Carl Crawford will have Tommy John surgery on his left elbow on Thursday.

An ESPN.com report on Sunday said Crawford would have the Tommy John surgery, but general manager Ben Cherington had said then that a decision would not be made until Monday.

The Red Sox released a statement on Monday, which read: “Carl Crawford has a chronic left elbow ulnar collateral ligament tear. While he has been following a conservative treatment protocol and playing with this injury, his symptoms are getting worse. After consultation with the Boston Red Sox medical staff and with Dr. James Andrews, the decision has been made to proceed with a left elbow ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction (Tommy John surgery). The surgery will be performed by Dr. Andrews on Thursday, August 23. We expect Carl to make a full recovery.”

Crawford will miss the rest of the season after hitting .282 with three homers in just 31 games for the Red Sox in 2012.

McClure fired

The Red Sox fired Bob McClure as pitching coach on Monday and named Randy Niemann to the fill the role for the rest of the season.

The Red Sox rank 11th of 14 team in the American League in earned run average at 4.30.

McClure, 60, did not last one full season with the Red Sox. He was named Boston's pitching coach in December 2011 after being the Royals pitching coach for six seasons.

Niemann, 56, has served as Boston's assistant pitching coach in 2012, his first season in the Red Sox organization

Ortiz improving

After taking batting practice again Sunday, David Ortiz still won't be ready to play tonight at Fenway Park in the series opener against the Angels.

But his return is growing imminent.

Asked if he would be ready during the Red Sox' seven-game homestand, perhaps even later this week, Ortiz said, “If things continue the way they are, probably, yeah.”

“You know how injuries are,” said Ortiz, sidelined since July 16 by a strained right Achilles. “You take your time, you heal, then when you're ready to go, you're ready to go. I'm finally seeing the light when it comes to my injury.”

The Red Sox were 46-44 when Ortiz got injured. They have gone 13-19 without him. But even with the team fading in the standings, Ortiz said he hasn't considered resting his sore right heel for the remainder of the season.

“If I'm healthy, of course (he'll play),” Ortiz said.