What Arbitration Means for Josh Willingham and the Oakland Athletics

Published: 24^th Nov 11 2:19 am

Steven Resnick
stevenresnick

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Cary Edmondson- US PRESSWIRE

According to MLB.com the Oakland Athletics have offered free agent outfielder Josh Willingham arbitration and likewise offered arbitration to David Dejesus, which neither are likely to accept. The MLB.com article found here also goes over the new collective bargaining agreement in terms of what happens when Willingham is signed by another team. It states “a team will not forfeit a Draft pick to sign him. Instead, it will receive compensation in the form of the pick before the signing team’s scheduled first-round pick, as well as a supplemental-round selection.”

With Willingham not being in the A’s lineup it will hurt as he had the best home run numbers for an A’s hitter since 2008 when Jack Cust hit 33 and the rbi total of 98 was the best since 2006 when Frank Thomas drove in 114 and Nick Swisher drove in 95. Worth noting is that Willingham’s average was on the low side at .246 as well as his OBP of .332 and on the high side was his 150 strikeouts.

Another issue with Willingham is his injury history as he has not played in 140 or more games since 2007 and in 2011 he missed a number of games due to an Achilles injury. Defensively he is below average as he lacks the necessary speed to cover ground on flyballs, he does possess a decent arm.

From the numbers alone it shows that Willingham doesn’t hit for a high average, strikes out a lot, and defensively is underwhelming, one might wonder what the appeal of Willingham is and how he was so important to the A’s offense.

The reason is because of what he did with runners in scoring position as he hit .313, with 42 hits, 11 home runs, nine doubles and 72 rbi. Those numbers with runners in scoring position alone make him a valuable commodity on the free agent market. He will especially help out a team that is looking to further stack its lineup such as the Texas Rangers or Detroit Tigers.

By not accepting the arbitration offer by the A’s, Willingham will be getting a raise from his previous one-year contract he signed with the A’s and likely will find himself in a more comfortable spot in the lineup hitting in the fifth or sixth spot and with a multi-year deal which is what he is looking for.

For the A’s it means that the team needs to find a replacement for Willingham and it appears this time that it will be Michael Taylor who appeared in 11 games and hit .200 with a home run, a rbi, and five walks with 11 strikeouts. Jai Miller could also see time in left during the 2012 season and Miller played in seven games in 2011 with the A’s in which he hit .250, with a home run and two rbi. There’s also a rumor that has floated around that the Miami Marlins are interested in Gio Gonzalez and the asking price has been either Logan Morrison or Mike Stanton and at this point it doesn’t look like the Marlins are willing to part ways with Morrison or Stanton.

The A’s can also build for the future with the compensation that will be received when Willingham is signed.

So, at this point in the offseason it appears that Taylor and Miller will be the two battling it out to replace the departed Willingham in the A’s lineup and Willingham likely finding a new team. While it will be tough for the A’s to replace the production of Willingham, Taylor will get his chance to prove why Billy Beane was so high on him and also show that he can make at impact at the Major League level. Of course the A’s could bring in a left fielder in a trade and that could mean seeing Taylor in right field or there could be a platoon between Taylor and Miller for time in left field. The Willingham signing also help build the team for the future with the compensation that will be received.

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