Yankees shortstop Didi Gregorius underwent Tommy John surgery on Wednesday at the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan, the team announced.

The surgery, which went as expected, was performed by Dr. David Altchek.

It was announced last week that Gregorius needed the surgery after injuring his elbow during the ALDS, but manager Aaron Boone was hopeful Gregorius will be with the team for most of the 2019 season.

Gregorius, according to manager Aaron Boone, felt pain in his throwing elbow on a throw at Fenway Park, and an MRI revealed he had a torn right UCL.

"We're optimistic that he'll be back at some point during the season," Boone said Friday. "I don't want to speculate too much on when. It's obviously different than a pitcher ... so we think there's a real chance he plays the bulk of the season."

GM Brian Cashman said that when the Yankees acquired Gregorius from the Diamondbacks in 2014, an MRI showed a partial tear in his elbow that was asymptomatic, but was never an issue until now.

Gregorius missed most of the final week of the regular season after he tore cartilage in his wrist, and he also suffered a left heel contusion in late August that put him on the disabled list.

Despite his injuries, Gregorius played 132 games and logged 1,149 1/3 innings at shortstop in 2018. Without Gregorius, second baseman Gleyber Torres logged 152 innings at short, while late-season acquisition Adeiny Hechavarria played 16 games (92 innings) at shortstop.

Both Boone and Cashman point to Torres as the likely option to fill the void, but with Manny Machado expected to hit the free agent market, it could entice the Yankees to find an external option.

"We'll improve this club in any way shape or form we can," Cashman said. "What we have to give up, whether it's financial or player-wise in a trade, we'll evaluate. We do have internal options but the best option is Didi. Unfortunately, for a period of time he has to take care of his health and he'll get the best care. How we handle the waiting aspect, obviously, we're in a premature sitaution right now and it's to be determined.

At the plate, Gregorius recorded a .268/.335/.494 batting line with 27 home runs (a career high) and 86 RBI in 134 games. In the playoffs, Gregorius went 4-for-17 with three RBIs.

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