Aug 26th 2008 9:35PM by Matt Watson (author feed)
This morning, Ken Rosenthal reported that Mark Kotsay had cleared waivers and was drawing trade interest from the Red Sox and Phillies. This evening, Kotsay was a late scratch from Atlanta’s lineup. Coincidence? Not according to David O’Brien of the :
Center fielder Mark Kotsay was a late scratch from the Braves’ lineup Tuesday, fueling speculation he would be traded before the end of the night to the Boston Red Sox.

A person familiar with the situation said the Braves were close enough to a trade that they didn’t want to risk Kotsay getting hurt playing on the rain-soaked surface at Turner Field.
The Red Sox have both a spot on their roster and in their lineup for the taking after finally putting J.D. Drew on the disabled list. Drew was recently diagnosed with a herniated disc in his back and hasn’t played since August 17th. Kotsay, ironically, missed five weeks earlier this season with a bulging disc himself, but he’s healthy right now, and considering he’ll be a free agent in just a few short months, that’s really all that matters.

Kotsay doesn’t have nearly as powerful a bat as Drew, but he’s certainly an improvement over Coco Crisp, the slap-hitting fourth outfielder pressed into duty by Drew’s injury. Since the All-Star break, Kotsay has posted a .820 OPS; Crisp, just .686.

Update: According to Y!’s Gordon Edes, the deal is done pending a physical.