Kotsay arrives on a rescue mission

NEW YORK - Mark Kotsay held out his first baseman's glove. He brought it from Atlanta as one of his weapons to protect a team whose players seem to have gotten injured at an alarming rate lately. Not only will Kotsay provide protection for J.D. Drew, who was placed on the disabled list Tuesday, but also for Sean Casey, who hasn't recovered from a stiff neck suffered last Thursday.

"J.D.'s injury necessitated this trade," said Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein, whose tenure with the Padres overlapped with Kotsay's in 2001. "[Kotsay is] still a plus defender, we feel, in center and in right. He's played some first base in his past as well, which might come in handy with Casey a little beat up. But Mark, he's got great instincts in the field, still got a strong throwing arm, a great head for the game. Offensively, he grinds his at-bats the way we like, especially against righthanded pitching.

"I know it's an overused cliché, but he is a gamer, the type of guy you want the ball hit to in a big spot, you want up in a big spot. We hope J.D.'s not out too long, but if he is, it'll be nice to have Mark on the roster to help fill that void."

So for both small money and little in terms of prospects, the Sox acquired Kotsay yesterday from the Braves. In exchange for Kotsay waiving his limited no-trade clause, the Sox will pay him a $325,000 signing bonus, as well as the remainder of his contract. But that's not much, even though he is making $7.35 million this season. Most of that - $5.35 million - is actually being paid by Oakland, which traded him to Atlanta. The Red Sox also gave up 20-year-old Single A Lowell outfielder Luis Sumoza (.301, 11 home runs, 38 RBIs).

"I'm just anxious to come over and in some way help this club obviously reach its destination," said Kotsay after arriving at Yankee Stadium just before 6 p.m. "And at the same time have as much fun as possible. It's very invigorating, no question. Unfortunately, in Atlanta, things didn't go as well as we would have [liked]. I see Atlanta giving me this opportunity and we have to be thankful for that."

The Sox had been looking at Kotsay before Drew was injured, but the impetus increased when he went down with back spasms. Though Kotsay's role hasn't been determined, he can be used in center or right or at first base. Mike Lowell, his teammate with the Marlins, called Kotsay "the best right fielder I ever saw cut a ball off, as accurate an arm as possible."

For Kotsay, 32, it's not about speed, it's more about instincts and game intelligence.

His preference is the outfield. "Obviously, it's not the first and foremost choice to go out and play first base," he said, "but whatever I'm asked to do, I'll go out and give 100 percent and definitely work on [it]. If I'm not as good as they want me to be, [I'll] get better."

Kotsay, who is batting .289 with six home runs and 37 RBIs in 81 games this season, was the Sox' second waiver pickup. Both Paul Byrd, last night's starter, and Kotsay had cleared waivers early in the process and so were available. Epstein said the Sox hadn't discussed any other names in this deal, given the difficulty of getting a player through waivers, but they had attempted to get Brian Giles before he exercised his no-trade clause to stay in San Diego.

Unlike Giles, Kotsay seemed happy to be with Boston, happy to be on a team with a chance to win. And the Sox seemed happy to have him. For manager Terry Francona, the messages came in all morning: Kotsay is one of the all-time great guys, one of the correspondents' favorite players. Or, as Francona said, "The one thing I've heard from numerous people is if he can walk, he'll play."

Francona expects Kotsay to play right today, with Jacoby Ellsbury in center. He said he made the decision because of Ellsbury's speed and range and Kotsay's arm.

"For me, I mean, the respect of your peers is ultimately what you play the game for and really nothing else," Kotsay said. "There's no accolades that I'm chasing at this point other than to be on a winning club and to play in a World Series."