"I feel badly for Andrew," A's assistant general manager David Forst said. "The timing was unfortunate."

Brown, 27, first began to experience shoulder trouble after a quick return from an appendectomy last summer, and he missed much of the second half. He was advised to rest the shoulder and then rehab it.

He had no further pain in the joint, but Brown said when he began to throw again, his velocity was down a good 10-12 mph, into the mid-80s. Increased strength training didn't help, and Dr. James Andrews confirmed that Brown would need surgery.

Andrews repaired a 10 percent tear in the rotator cuff, Brown told the San Francisco Chronicle. The surgeon also fixed a small tear in the labrum and addressed bursitis in the area.

Brown will miss the entire year, but the A's have told him they will consider signing him to a minor-league deal when he is back at full strength.

Brown was not sour about his dismissal, telling the Chronicle, "They've got to move on and try to win. I understand that. I have nothing but respect and appreciation for the A's. The front office was always up-front and honest with me and I loved playing with that team. I want what's best for them."

Brown had a 3.05 ERA in 35 innings last year. He has 78 strikeouts in his 86 2/3 innings in the majors.