Rays' Drew Rasmussen: Out until middle of next year

Manager Kevin Cash said Saturday that Rasmussen (elbow) will undergo an internal brace procedure and won't return until the middle of next season, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

The Rays had previously hoped that Rasmussen would be able to return late in this season after he hit the 60-day injured list with a right flexor strain in mid-May, but that won't be the case. The righty will avoid undergoing Tommy John surgery for the third time in his career, but not by a wide margin. The internal brace alternative is a similar surgery and carries a recovery time that's at best only somewhat shorter.