Philadelphia Phillies right-hander Roy Halladay will have shoulder surgery this week and the best case is that he may be able to return to the mound in three months.
Halladay, who will earn $20 million in 2013, is a free agent at season's end.
"It's tough," Halladay said. "You feel an obligation to the organization, to your teammates, to the fans to try to go out and pitch. Especially on a competitive team that sells out. For me, that was a big factor. If I'm playing for a last-place team, and there's things going on, you maybe speak up. But we have a chance to go win a World Series, and we have sellouts, and fans have expectations. You want to do everything you can to try to make it work.
"Really, that was a lot of the reason I tried to keep going. ... I just wanted to reach out to the fans, thank them for their support, and apologize to the ones who pay the money and show up in the second inning and it's 9-0. I apologize to the fans that I won't be out there for three months."