Josh Willingham RUMORS & NEWS

St. Paul Pioneer Press "Josh Willingham's career-high 35 home runs and 110 RBIs in 2012 raised expectations for what the Twins left fielder can do for an encore, though he has enough self-awareness to keep it real. "Yeah, if I don't hit 50 this year I'm going home," Willingham quipped after arriving at spring..." February 16

St. Paul Pioneer Press "Josh Willingham will be out of the lineup for the third straight game when the Twins play host to Detroit on Friday, Sept. 28, at Target Field. The left fielder could, in fact, be done for the season. Willingham has a sprained ligament in his left shoulder, suffered while reaching for a home..." September 28

Minneapolis Star Tribune "Twins outfielder Josh Willingham, still bothered by a sore right hamstring, was not in the starting lineup Wednesday. He did pinch hit in the ninth, flying out to end the game. "I could have [started]," Willingham said. Willingham and the Twins are looking at the big picture. It's better to..." September 06

St. Paul Pioneer Press "Twins starter Scott Diamond and left fielder Josh Willingham were passed over Sunday, July 1, in reserve selections on the American League All-Star team despite having impressive seasons. Willingham entered Sunday's game against Kansas City leading the Twins with 16 homers and 52 RBIs. He..." July 02

Minneapolis Star Tribune "The league office has spoken. Twins outfielder Josh Willingham has a 15-game hitting streak, not a three-game streak. Willingham went 0-for-3 with a run scored Sunday during a loss to the Cubs. He reached on Ian Stewart's fielding error in the ninth inning. So everyone left that game believing..." June 14

Twinkie Town "Minnesota Twins outfielder Josh Willingham remains one of the most sough-after right-handed hitters on the market, reports Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. Cafardo adds that the Twins haven't currently reached the point where they will sell off assets like Willingham and fellow slugger Justin..." June 11

Minneapolis Star Tribune "Josh Willingham seems to be a slugger who wants a challenge. He spent last season with Oakland playing in a home park notorious for being a tough place to hit home runs. It was his sixth full season in the big leagues, and he finished with career highs of 29 home runs and 98 RBI. He became a..." May 31

St. Paul Pioneer Press "Did Josh Willingham deliver one of those signature moments for the Twins? Is it possible he turned around the Twins' lethargic season? "Something like this can be a springboard for a team," Willingham said late Tuesday night, May 29, in the Twins' locker room at Target Field. Willingham..." May 30

Oakland Tribune "As their losing streak grows, the A's find more gut-wrenching ways to give games away. Closer Brian Fuentes served up a three-run, walk-off homer to former Athletic Josh Willingham in the ninth inning Tuesday, and the Minnesota Twins sent the A's to their seventh straight defeat,..." May 30

Minneapolis Star Tribune "Josh Willingham's scouting report on his infant son: "He does a lot of sleeping. He does a lot of eating. He does a lot of pooping." Rogan Willingham was born Wednesday, and he already sounds like a ballplayer. His daddy certainly looks like one. Josh Willingham, whom Justin Morneau calls..." April 30

Dallas Morning News "Major League Baseball announced Minnesota's Josh Willingham as AL Player of the Week Monday. He beat out both the Rangers' Josh Hamilton and Michael Young. In six games last week, including three losses to the Rangers, Willingham batted .455 (10-for-22) with a double, three home runs, four RBI,..." April 17

Minneapolis Star Tribune "With four home runs in the season's first six games, Twins left fielder Josh Willingham is on pace to hit 108 home runs this year. "I'm keeping it simple, trying to see it and hit it," he said after connecting again in Thursday's 10-9 victory over the Angels. "Usually that's the method that..." April 13

Minneapolis Star Tribune "Josh Willingham chooses his words judiciously and shares thoughts in snippets, at least in the presence of media members or if the topic involves himself. A typical answer is proceeded by a shrug. There's nothing boring about the way he plays baseball, though. At the plate or in left..." April 12

Minneapolis Star Tribune "Twins manager Ron Gardenhire named Josh Willingham his starting left fielder Sunday, changing a projected outfield alignment that originally had Ben Revere in left, Denard Span in center and Willingham in right. "I thought Ben in left field sounded fine, but then you start seeing everything,..." March 26

Minneapolis Star Tribune "The Twins were finalizing a three-year, $21 million agreement with free agent outfielder Josh Willingham late Tuesday night, according to two people familiar with the negotiations. Team officials would not confirm the deal, but they acknowledged having serious discussions with Willingham's..." December 14

Minneapolis Star Tribune "The Twins have made a three-year, $24 million offer to Michael Cuddyer, but they can't wait forever. One of their top alternatives if Cuddyer signs elsewhere is Josh Willingham, and Willingham's agent, Matt Sosnick, told The Star Tribune today that his client is nearing a decision. "Josh has..." December 13

Cincinnati Enquirer "The Reds came to the Winter Meetings in Dallas with the expressed mission of landing a quality starting pitcher. They met with several clubs Sunday and Monday. "We've been busy," Reds general manager Walt Jocketty said. "We've talked to several clubs. Nothing close. But at least I feel things..." December 06

Minneapolis Star Tribune "The Twins recently contacted Matt Sosnick, the agent for Ryan Doumit and Josh Willingham, expressing interest in both players, according to people familiar with the discussion. Sosnick and Paul Cobbe also represent Hisashi Iwakuma, a free agent pitcher from Japan who interests the Twins. In..." November 16

San Francisco Chronicle "Oakland's shot at retaining Josh Willingham is slipping away, quite possibly for good. Willingham's agent, Matt Sosnick, told The Chronicle on Saturday that he approached the team last week with various possibilities for a multiyear deal for their top offensive player, and general manager Billy..." September 25

Oakland Tribune "Left fielder Josh Willingham and first baseman Brandon Allen both could factor heavily into the A's fortunes next season. One continued raking Monday night and the other continued struggling, and both were noteworthy developments in the A's 6-3 victory over the visiting Los Angeles..." September 13

Oakland Tribune "The A's face a crucial decision in whether to re-sign left fielder Josh Willingham, a potential free agent who could be one of the more enticing outfielders available this winter. Willingham, 32, leads the A's in homers (22) and RBIs (73). Though he's hitting just .249, he fills a void as the..." August 23

Oakland Tribune "The A's had not won a road series in three months, so it was natural that a victory Sunday required some struggle. After Grant Balfour surrendered a tying home run to Evan Longoria in the seventh inning, Josh Willingham delivered the go-ahead homer in the top of the 10th that lifted the A's to..." August 08

San Francisco Chronicle "Outfielders Josh Willingham and David DeJesus say they don't closely follow the latest trade rumors. They both have other sources to track that information. "Just what my wife tells me," Willingham said. Same with DeJesus, who said, "I leave that to my wife. She goes to the trade rumor..." July 24

Foxsports.com "Eleven days from the non-waiver deadline, the buyers are sounding their usual complaints: Asking prices are ridiculous, nothing will happen until the sellers turn realistic, etc. When it comes to two of the top available hitters, the frustration level among some buyers is especially..." July 21

Pittsburgh Tribune Review "As they set their targets for trade offers, the Pirates are willing to consider acquiring a high-priced "rental" player to provide a boost in the playoff chase. "We are open to various types of players, based on acquisition cost and fit on the club," general manager Neal Huntington said..." July 18

MLB.com "Oakland's most productive power hitter, Josh Willingham, went on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left Achilles tendon on Thursday, and Chris Carter was recalled from Triple-A Sacramento. Willingham has a .231 average in 64 games, and is leading the A's in home runs (10) and RBIs (42)...." June 23

ESPN.com "The Braves are outpitching just about every team in baseball -- including the Phillies. But the Braves continue to worry about an offense that ranks 12th in the National League and 22nd in the big leagues in runs scored per game. So they're aggressively positioning themselves to deal for an..." June 17

San Francisco Chronicle "Oakland's offense is starting to click, and that's especially the case with two outs. The A's scored 12 two-out runs in a three-game sweep of the Orioles, and on Sunday, the big blow of the game came with two outs and two strikes, when Josh Willingham launched a 3-2 pitch from Zach Britton into..." May 30

Oakland Tribune "Even though he still professes his innocence, A's outfielder Josh Willingham decided to drop the appeal of his one-game suspension and sat out Friday night's game against the Chicago White Sox. "I dropped the appeal for no reason other than to get it over with," Willingham said. It probably..." May 14

MLB.com "A's outfielder Josh Willingham was handed a one-game suspension and fined an undisclosed amount on Monday for what Major League Baseball deemed "inappropriate conduct" in Saturday's game in Kansas City. Willingham was scheduled to serve his suspension during Oakland's series opener against the..." May 10

Oakland Tribune "Perhaps Josh Willingham should request more correspondence from the commissioner's office. After receiving a one-game suspension from Major League Baseball for his "inappropriate conduct" toward umpire Bill Miller over the weekend, Willingham responded Monday night with the best game of any A's..." May 10

San Francisco Chronicle "Josh Willingham, bad boy. The A's could get used to that. Hours after he was suspended by Major League Baseball, Willingham took the field Monday night and made a statement to anyone who thought such a penalty would get him down. He enjoyed his most productive game as an Athletic, driving in..." May 10

San Francisco Chronicle "Josh Willingham grew up in Florence, Ala., and he still lives there. He's an Alabaman through and through. So this week, while Willingham's wife, Ginger, was doing hands-on work helping people in Alabama whose homes were destroyed by the deadly tornadoes that struck the South last week,..." May 05

San Francisco Chronicle "Josh Willingham homered Monday and was hitting .333 over his past nine games, which qualifies him as red-hot for the A's. He wasn't in the Oakland lineup for Tuesday's series opener, however. Manager Bob Geren said he wanted to get Ryan Sweeney into a game, so Sweeney was in left field, rather..." May 04

Oakland Tribune "Coco Crisp and Josh Willingham were both out of the A's lineup Wednesday against the Los Angeles Angels, but manager Bob Geren is hopeful that neither outfielder will miss much time. Willingham, who left Monday's game with tightness in his back, took some swings before Wednesday's game. He said..." April 28

Oakland Tribune "The questions surrounding Josh Willingham are the same ones faced by any impact hitter the A's import from the National League. People wonder how he'll adjust to American League pitchers and whether he can thrive in the Oakland Coliseum, a ballpark that can be tough on right-handed power..." February 25