Oakland A's: Should the A's Deal Josh Willingham? Should They Do It Early?

Buyers or sellers? That is the question.

It wasn't long ago that the Oakland Athletics were knee-deep in a June swoon losing 13 out of 14 games.  The climate in Oakland was lukewarm at best, and that's being nice.

There was still hope due to the A's pitching staff, but losing starting pitcher Brett Anderson for an extended period of time lowered the temperature a bit in A's land.  Dallas Braden (out for the season), Brandon McCarthy and Tyson Ross have already been sideline by injuries, but Graham Godfrey and Guillermo Moscoso have filled in and done a formidable job keeping fans off the ledge.

The firing of manager Bob Geren and hiring of Bob Melvin seemed to sit well with A's fans.

Even with that terrible 14 game stretch, the A's remain within striking distance of first place.  The school of thought in Oakland seems to be as long as we pitch well we can stay afloat.  With all the injuries, though, the boat has started to take on a little more water.

Bob Melvin has had time to settle, and the A's have won five in a row, so the question is this: Do the A's have enough bats to contend, and even with the recent success, are the A's going to be buyers or sellers before the July 31 trade deadline?

If the A's choose the latter, the name that keeps popping up is outfielder Josh Willingham.

I was asked to give 10 reasons why the A's should sell early on Willingham.  A few things  have transpired since I was asked to write this column, such as Willingham's Achilles tendon injury, the A's starting to play better under new manager Bob Melvin and the emergence of rookie second baseman Jemile Weeks. 

Bats are needed in Oakland, this is no secret, and Willingham definitely has not lived up to expectations so far. Or has he? The left fielder is batting .231 with 10 home runs.  The .231 average is a disappointment, but 10 home runs is about right considering he averages just over 14 a year, and 20 home runs are not out of the question.  Willingham also leads the team with 42 RBI. 

The thought of getting rid of a possible 20 home run and 90-plus RBI guy might not make sense.

Although, let's not forget that we are talking about the A's, and dealing Willingham early shouldn't be a shock.

The first thing to consider is his salary, which is $6 million. Couple that with the fact that the Philadelphia Phillies and the Atlanta Braves have shown interest.  Depending on what is offered, the club could consider a deal with one of these teams, especially if they can get another bat at cheaper price. 

First basemen Daric Barton seems to be all but gone, and with the emergence of Jemile Weeks, this might put veteran second basemen Mark Ellis on the hot seat. I know it's early when talking about Weeks, but there is still plenty of time to evaluate him further before the trade deadline.

The surprising Weeks has added a much-needed bat to the lineup and he's a switch hitter, as well. 

Now you have Willingham and Ellis and their $12 million combined salaries and neither is setting the world on fire.

Maybe you package Willingham and Ellis and get some value.  The conundrum is this: the A's can get rid of Willingham and use Sweeney in left field, but Sweeney hits for average and doesn't possess the RBI and home run potential that Willingham brings, but his salary is only $1.4 million.  Like I said, we are talking about the A's.

Whether or not the A's make any of these moves will depend on the health of Ellis and Willingham, along with the development of Weeks.  Oh, and lets not forget that their record come mid-July will play a huge role in all of this.