Chicago ? Chicago Cubs star Sammy Sosa was placed on the 15-day disabled list Saturday after having the toenail removed from his big right toe.

“I can promise you he was in a lot of agony,” Cubs general manager Jim Hendry said after Chicago beat St. Louis, 3-2, in 10 innings without Sosa.

Hendry said Sosa’s big toe on his right foot was nearly twice the size of the one on his left foot.

“It was really affecting the way he was swinging the bat. The last possible option for him was to take time off. It got to the point where he could not perform at the level he usually does,” Hendry said.

Sosa had been plagued by chronic irritation of the toenail for the last month and it did not respond to treatment.

Sosa, a late scratch from Saturday’s game against the St. Louis Cardinals, had the toenail removed in a procedure at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

“I’ve been bothered by the toe for the last month and it just wasn’t getting any better,” Sosa said in a statement released by the Cubs during the game.

“I feel relieved the nail is off and it can finally heal,” he said.

Rain washed out batting practice Saturday, but Sosa, with umbrella in hand, went to the batting cage under the right-field bleachers.

A short time later, Cubs manager Dusty Baker said Sosa was a late scratch from the lineup. In the seventh inning, the team announced he was headed to the disabled list.

It is the fourth trip to the disabled list in Sosa’s career and the first since 1996.

“Anytime you lose a bat like that out of your lineup, it’s hard to deal with,” Cubs pitcher Kerry Wood said Saturday. “As a group, guys will have to collectively fill in.”

To fill Sosa’s spot on the roster, the Cubs recalled right-handed pitcher Todd Wellemeyer from Triple-A Iowa.

Sosa, who played in all 35 of the Cubs’ games before Saturday, was replaced by Troy O’Leary.

“I knew it was pretty serious because he’s been going through it and fighting it for like a month,” Baker said. “Sammy is a gladiator and for him to say it’s enough right now, it’s got to be sore because he doesn’t miss games and he doesn’t complain.”

Since he was beaned on April 21 by Pittsburgh’s Salomon Torres, Sosa has struggled with his power over the last 16 games, batting 17-for-62 (.274) with just one homer and three RBIs.

Baker said Sosa’s toe is the real problem because it’s preventing him from rotating on his back foot and causing him to swing late on fastballs that aren’t even 90 mph.

“Everyone is thinking it’s because he got beaned, but he was late on those pitches before he got beaned,” Baker said.

Baker said the Cubs wanted to take care of the situation now so it wouldn’t lead to a more serious injury should Sosa compensate for the toe by changing the way he runs.

Sosa is batting .303 overall this season with six homers and 23 RBIs.