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Rangers 1B Mitch Moreland to undergo ankle surgery this week, will miss 'extensive' time

The 28-year-old Mitch Moreland said he wanted to put off the surgery for after the season, but the ankle pain became unbearable. (Fort Worth Star-Telegram/Getty Images)

The 28-year-old Mitch Moreland said he wanted to put off the surgery for after the season, but the ankle pain became unbearable. (Fort Worth Star-Telegram/Getty Images)

Rangers first baseman Mitch Moreland will undergo left ankle surgery on Wednesday and is expected to miss "extensive" time, according to a tweet on Sunday from Rangers Executive Vice President of Communications John Blake.

The tweet was retweeted by the Rangers on Sunday, and Richard Durrett of ESPN Dallas also reported on Sunday that Moreland could be sidelined for three months. The decision to undergo surgery is the latest effort to address chronic pain in the ankle that the team has tried to deal with through injections, orthotics and wraps, Gerry Fraley of the Dallas Morning News reported on Sunday.

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While he's out, Donnie Murphy will take his place at first base, but General Manager Jon Daniels will seek out other options, whether it be internally or looking outside the organization, Durrett also reported.

The 28-year-old Moreland said he was planning all along to have the surgery after the season, but the pain had become so severe that he's realizing he is not able to perform and believes he is hurting his team. The Rangers are now in second to last place in the AL West with a 31-31 record.

More from Moreland in Durrett's report:

"It's to the point where I'm hurting the team, hurting myself trying to go out there and make something happen," Moreland said. "There's no lower half. I'm doing everything I can and trying to battle through it, but it's to the point where it's affecting me trying to go out and play. It's hurting pretty bad. The surgery, I tried to fight it off until the end of the year. I knew I was going to have to have surgery. They told me you can do everything you can to try to get to the end of the year. I can't do it any more. I'm going to try to get back healthy and get ready to go."

Moreland was batting .246 with two home runs and 23 RBI with the bulk of the playing time falling on him as Prince Fielder is likely done for the season.