The Offer's On The Table: Oakland offered salary arbitration to OF's Josh Willingham & David DeJesus (Photo Credit: Ben Margot/AP)

The A’s have officially offered salary arbitration to their free agent outfielders Josh Willingham and David DeJesus. Both Willingham and DeJesus have until November 30 to accept arbitration, but it’s expected that Oakland, a team mired in a complex stadium problem, will lose both their free agent outfielders this winter.

Willingham was acquired by Oakland last winter in a deal with the Washington Nationals. A’s general manager Billy Beane scored pretty big this past season with Willingham, as the veteran outfielder posted career highs in both home runs (29) and RBIs (98).

Willingham proved to be Oakland’s best offensive player this year and it’s expected that he’ll get plenty of offers from other clubs this winter. Time to get rid of those Willingham jerseys, assuming you actually purchased one this season.

DeJesus, meanwhile, didn’t meet Oakland’s expectations this year. (more…)

Speaking of pitching, the A’s should head into the 2011 campaign with a very deep pitching staff. The A’s added ex-team ace Rich Harden this offseason, and he should get a chance at competing for a spot in the rotation. If Harden’s healthy, the A’s should use him in the rotation. Adding a healthy Harden, who is still young at 29, to a rotation that already includes Brett Anderson, Trevor Cahill, Gio Gonzalez, and Dallas Braden could make Oakland’s pitching staff one of the best units in baseball. (more…)

Taking his time. 3B Adrian Beltre is being pursued by the A's, but still wants to stay in Boston. (Photo Courtesy of yardbarker.com)

Okay, the A’s missed out on Adam Dunn’s services, but the team has enough time left to really address their offensive woes. The team non-tendered DH Jack Cust, OF Travis Buck, and 3B Edwin Encarnacion yesterday according to multiple reports, including the A’s official team site.

With Cust out of the picture, the A’s must feel very confident that they’ll be able to sign free agent Lance Berkman. Berkman is definitely no Adam Dunn, but the team is definitely interested in his services. I’m still a bit skeptical of how much Berkman has left in the tank, and how much he can contribute to the A’s, especially after hitting just .248 this year in 122 games.

According to Buster Olney of ESPN.com, the A’s are very serious contenders to land Berkman and are “targeting him enthusiastically,” but have yet to discuss salary with the slugger.

The latest on free agent 3B Adrian Beltre might be a little discouraging for some A’s fans. According to the Boston Globe (also reported by ESPN), the third-baseman is interested in returning to Boston. Beltre, who is represented by agent Scott Boras, had a fantastic season this year hitting .321/.365/.553 with 28 HR and 102 RBIs with the Red Sox.

Beltre was quoted as saying that he “liked the atmosphere” in Boston, and liked the fact that the stadium was packed most nights. The A’s attendance, however, was the second-lowest in baseball this year. Despite reports that the A’s were close to signing Beltre, the slugger may be taking his time before deciding to agree to a contract. (more…)