GM Billy Beane "believes that two months' more service from the A's pending free agents, plus any potential draft compensation picks for losing them, would be more valuable than the types of proposals he has seen," reports Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Said Beane:
"We've accepted calls on players, but we made it clear we're not going to give these guys away. We don't have any monetary issues, and we're not looking to dump payroll. If we did anything, it would have to help us significantly moving forward, not some team's prospect No. 37. In respect for Bob Melvin, we're not going to strip-mine things for two months for players of no consequence."
Beane has been expected to purge the team of impending free agents David DeJesus, Josh Willingham, Coco Crisp, Conor Jackson, and Rich Harden, plus any number of relievers who are controlled beyond this year. The Athletics' demands for reliever Brad Ziegler are considered reasonable, notes Slusser.
Currently, Willingham projects as a Type A free agent, DeJesus a B, and Crisp, Jackson, and Harden nothing. Arbitration offers are not certain for Willingham and DeJesus, either. With the five free agents making a combined $22.45MM in base salary this year, Beane could save over $7MM if he changes his mind and cleans house just for the savings.
