The Oakland Athletics rumor mill remains hot and heavy even with teams dispersing from the winter meetings to continue their offseason business. The A's have reportedly made it known that everybody but Jemile Weeks is on the table for possible trades. Gio Gonzalez was the big name this past week, but fellow All-Star Trevor Cahill is also getting into the mix.
Reports out of the winter meetings indicate Diamondbacks GM Kevin Towers spoke with Oakland about both Gonzalez and Cahill. The Diamondbacks have several top prospects, although not all are readily available. Jon Heyman is reporting Tyler Skaggs is unavailable and Trevor Bauer is ineligible to be dealt.
The latest rumor has young RHP Jarrod Parker at the center of a deal for Cahill. Ken Rosenthal is reporting a deal could include Parker and outfield Collin Cowgill.
Parker had Tommy John surgery in 2009 and sat out all of 2010. He returned in 2011 and struggled early with his command. It started to come together in the second half of the season as he put together a dominant July in which he was 4-0 with a 1.93 ERA. He was a late season call up and got a start in for the Diamondbacks, as well as one appearance in the playoffs.
Cowgill is coming off a 2011 season in which he hit .354 with 13 home runs and 70 RBIs in 98 games at Triple-A Reno. Cowgill spent the final month and a half of the season with the Diamondbacks where he hit .239 in 36 games.