The 2011 MLB trade deadline is two weeks away and as the Oakland A's have scuffled along, the vultures around the league have been circling the team. The A's are a relatively young team but they have a handful of veterans that could prove to be of some value. Among those is outfielder Josh Willingham. He struggled with an Achilles injury earlier this season but even with a couple missed weeks in June and July he still leads the team with 12 home runs.
The Atlanta Braves have been one team linked to Willingham. The Braves have indicated Willingham isn't "high on their list" but that does not mean a deal won't happen. Rather, that could be a mix of gamesmanship by the Braves front office and basically just waiting to see how their various options play out. When healthy (always a big if), Willingham can be a solid right-handed masher. He's in the midst of a modest seven game hit streak in which he's hitting .393 (11-for-28) with two home runs and five RBIs. It's not a lot, but given how the A's offense has performed it's not too bad. If he can keep it up over the next 14 days his value will only improve.