A's Rumors: Furcal, Embree, Thomas

OK. Scrap what I said about Embree being a LOOGY. He was equally effective against both righties and lefties last year. The A's didn't have a true LOOGY (Blevins did walk much fewer lefties than righties, although he's still potent against righties and should be be allowed to face both) last year.

Still, offer Embree arbi, if he accepts, fine.

Frank Thomas shouldn't be offered arbitration; there is no spot for him on the team and he pretty much WILL accept.

I don't think RJ will be an ERA-Under-3 guy in the AL. Maybe a 4 ERA guy. But I do think that a 1 year contract would work. The A's have a lot of good pitching depth in the minors, but they are all "Mid 2009 at earliest" and best suited for 2010. RJ could also act somewhat like Frank Thomas-bring in some fans who like the name.

The A's will not offer Arbitration to Thomas unless he agreed already to reject it. There is a reason for Thomas to decline it too if the A's ask, just as the A's will not offer it unless they are sure that Thomas will decline it.

Thomas would make a good amount in Arbitration due to his previous contract (BlueJays) if he accepted. But, he knows that if he wants to play again, he would not get that much. Indeed, he might need another low base, high incentive contract again simular to what he signed originally with the A's at. Declining Arbitration would not hurt Thomas, a Type B FA, so teams would not fear losing a pick. And declinging it would give him the option of returning to the A's if the A's do not find anyone later in the off season and Thomas is still looking for work, whereas if the A's do not offer Arbitration, they are struck from the list.

The A's would like to have the Draft Pick, and they would also probably like the option of possibly having Thomas return for the right price if they can not find another bat.

For Embree, he says he wants 1 more year, so if the A's offer Arbitration, he might just accept. The thing is, the A's bullpen does not need Embree-its full right now with the addition of whatshisname from Washington. And if Embree is resigned, he will be at the bottom of the list of Relievers, whereas going to Colorado might put him near a Setup position.

I think again, the A's would ask Embree to decline the Arbitration offer. If they decide they still want him, they can always resign him. And since they declined his option, he won't be getting more than $3 from the A's, but he might from the Rockies or another team in a bidding war. If he declines Arbitration from the A's, desite their dropping of his option, he can still refer back to the A's as a potential suitor and play off them for a bigger 1 year contract.