Cardinals shortstop Rafael Furcal will likely miss the entire 2013 season due to opting for Tommy John surgery to repair ligaments on his right elbow. Furcal made the decision on Thursday after visiting Dr. James Andrews in Pensacola, Fla.

"It's very disappointing," Furcal told ESPN. "I worked so hard in the offseason to get everything straight, working hard with the doctors the training team we did anything we could do to get ready for spring training, ready for the season."

Furcal has dealt with his elbow injury since the end of last season, missing the final weeks of the Cardinals' playoff run. The team was originally concerned that Furcal would opt toward Tommy John surgery, but the shortstop decided to rehab the injury instead.

When healthy, Furcal has one of the strongest arms among major league shortstops. As a rookie while playing for Atlanta, Furcal posted the third highest OPS of any rookie shortstop trailing only Johnny Pesky and Arky Vaughn.