A's Lose Kotsay

The Oakland A's announced that Mark Kotsay will be out for three months recovering from surgery on a herniated disc. Kotsay first injured his back running into the outfield wall while with the San Diego Padres in 2003. "Mark has been battling this for a couple years, and it's become more frequent," A's general manger Billy Beane said. "He was a zealot in following his off season therapy but when there was a relapse in the first week of spring training, it was time to take more aggressive action." In 129 games, Kotsay hit .275 with 7 HR and 59 RBI.