Andrew Bailey out through the All-Star Break

Per Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald, Red Sox closer Andrew Bailey will have surgery to reconstruct the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in his right thumb.

The injury will keep Bailey on the disabled list until after the All-Star break, according to manager Bobby Valentine.

As far as which reliever will take over ninth-inning duties, the top candidates are Mark Melancon and Alfredo Aceves.

Melancon and Aceves are currently owned in 39 and 21 percent, respectively, of Yahoo! leagues.

Get our updated 2012 reliever rankings here.

A's closer Andrew Bailey to visit Dr. Andrews

Oakland A's closer Andrew Bailey left yesterday's game with discomfort in his right elbow and forearm and he'll pay a visit to Dr. James Andrews on Tuesday.

"Anytime you see someone leave the game with tightness, it's concerning," [A's manager Bob] Geren said, "but we'll reserve judgment until after he gets checked out."

That said, it's typically not good when a player makes a visit to Dr. Andrews.

Over the past two seasons, Bailey, who had surgery near the end of last season by Dr. Andrews, has a cumulative 1.70 ERA and 51 saves.

As Jane Lee of MLB.com points out, if Bailey isn't ready at the beginning of the season, it's likely that Brian Fuentes would close until Bailey can. Fuentes led all of baseball with 48 saves in 2009.

[Update: Bailey has a forearm strain and no ligament/joint damage, per ESPN's Buster Olney.]