The A's are set to meet with free agent Lance Berkman on Tuesday, according to an ESPN.com report. The team certainly could use the 34-year-old switch-hitter, who batted .248 with 14 home runs and 58 RBIs this season between Houston and the New York Yankees.

The Cubs and Athletics are expressing interest in free-agent slugger Lance Berkman. Berkman said the A's have been the "most aggressive" in terms of contact. He would like to return to the National League after spending the second half of the season with the Yankees, which appears to give Chicago the edge.

Negotiations between the Athletics and Japanese pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma aren't getting anywhere, according to a source. The San Francisco Chronicle was first to report Sunday that the parties were at a standstill. Oakland won bidding rights to Iwakuma earlier this month and had 30 days to reach agreement on a contract, which no longer seems realistic.

Outfielder Rajai Davis has been acquired by the Blue Jays from the Athletics for a pair of minor leaguers in the second trade of the general managers? meetings, according to an Associated Press report on Wednesday.

The Athletics have claimed third baseman Edwin Encarnacion off waivers from the Blue Jays. The move appears to put Kevin Kouzmanoff's job in jeopardy. Encarnacion batted .244 with 21 home runs and 51 RBIs in 96 games with the Blue Jays last year.

Billy Beane has been active early in the offseason by acquiring David DeJesus and plans to continue his plan to be aggressive But he won't trade core starters Trevor Cahill, Brett Anderson, Gio Gonzalez and Dallas Braden.

The Red Sox once again made a run at signing David DeJesus, but were outbid by the A's on Wednesday. During the summer, Boston was reluctant to include Felix Doubront.

Various outlets reported Wednesday that the A's will sign highly rated outfielder Vicmal De La Cruz of the Dominican Republic. Baseball Prospectus is reporting that De La Cruz, who turns 17 this month, will get $800,000.

The Kansas City Royals announced today that the club has acquired right-handed pitcher Vin Mazzaro and left-handed pitcher Justin Marks from the Oakland Athletics in exchange for outfielder David DeJesus. Mazzaro replaces DeJesus on the Major League roster while Marks has been assigned to the Wilmington roster. ?This deal allows us to further increase our pitching depth at the Major and minor league levels,? Royals? General Manager Dayton Moore said. ?Vin Mazzaro fits into our rotation for next season while Justin Marks is a young left-hander who we see starting 2011 at Wilmington. David DeJesus is a high-class person and has been our most consistent performer, both offensively and defensively, over the past few years. We wish the very best for him in the future.?

The Athletics have won the right to negotiate with Japanese pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma, Major League Baseball announced Monday. Oakland submitted the highest bid and now have 30 days to sign sign Iwakuma, a 29-year-old right-hander from the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of Japan's Pacific League. Iwakuma posted a 2.82 ERA in 201 innings for the Golden Eagles last season.