ATLANTA -- An MRI exam on Tom Glavine's sore left elbow revealed a small tear of the flexor tendon, and the left-hander is expected to be out until at least the All-Star break in mid-July, the Braves announced Friday.

General manager Frank Wren said the injury cannot be repaired through surgery, and that the elbow just needs time to heal and scar over.

"Again, there's no specific date, but sometime around the All-Star break or a little thereafter," Wren said Friday during a conference call with reporters.

Glavine, who avoided the 15-day disabled list during his first 21 seasons, was placed on the DL Tuesday for the second time in less than two months. This diagnosis -- a strained left elbow -- is much more severe than the strained right hamstring that caused him to miss a few starts in late April.

Wren said he spoke with the 42-year-old Glavine on Thursday night to discuss the MRI results and said that Glavine "feels like [the All-Star break] was a reasonable time frame."

Glavine is 2-3 with a 4.85 ERA in 12 starts this season. The 305-game winner has recorded just two wins in his past 16 outings, dating to last season.

He needed 72 pitches to complete three innings in Tuesday's 10-5 loss to the Cubs, and he told manager Bobby Cox that the discomfort in his pitching elbow was too intense to continue.

After the game, Glavine was placed on the DL with a strained left elbow. He told reporters that although he had been pitching with the discomfort since his May 4 start against the Reds, the pain had intensified in his past two starts.

Glavine said he had been scrambling during the past month to find an arm angle that alleviated the pain, and on Tuesday, he couldn't find one.

With his injured elbow finally hampering his performance, Glavine knew it would be best to go on the DL.

He flew back to Atlanta on Wednesday and had an MRI taken Thursday.

Glavine strained his right hamstring in April after throwing a pitch against the Nationals. He was placed on the DL on April 18, retroactive to April 14, for the first time in his 22-year career. Six weeks after being activated, he is back on the DL.

He signed a one-year, $8 million deal with the Braves during the offseason, figuring to be a dependable starter in a proven rotation. That hasn't panned out. Tim Hudson and Jair Jurrjens are the only two projected preseason starters who are still currently in the rotation.

The same day that Glavine was placed on the DL, John Smoltz underwent season-ending right shoulder surgery in Birmingham, Ala. Mike Hampton will throw a simulated game this weekend in Anaheim, and could begin a Minor League rehab assignment next week. He has been on the DL since April 3 with a strained left pectoral muscle and hasn't pitched in the Major Leagues since 2005.

The Braves resume Interleague Play with a three-game road series against the American League West-leading Angels on Friday night. Prospect Charlie Morton will make his Major League debut on Saturday.