Zobrist undergoes successful left knee surgery

OAKLAND -- A's utility man Ben Zobrist underwent successful arthroscopic surgery on his left knee on Tuesday in San Francisco, according to the club. Dr. Jon Dickinson performed a debridement of Zobrist's medial meniscus and the veteran is expected to miss four to six weeks.

"Everything went great," manager Bob Melvin said. "As far as timetables go, I don't know about that. I don't know if he'll be here tomorrow or the next day, but Dr. Dickinson said it went as well as we could have hoped. That's all I needed to hear."

Oakland will have to do some mixing and matching in the meantime, as Zobrist was a valuable everyday player before he exited the game on April 19 against the Royals with left knee soreness. Zobrist tried to play through the pain with a cortisone shot and as a designated hitter, but he couldn't move well out of the batter's box this past weekend before being placed on the 15-day disabled list.

Zobrist has started games in left and right field, as well as second base, for the A's, while also serving as a valuable infield backup. While Eric Sogard is expected to start at second while Zobrist is out, rookie Max Muncy has been called up from Triple-A Nashville to help fill in.

Zobrist, 33, is batting .240/.304/.400 with a homer and eight RBIs while being a mainstay in the No. 3 hole.