Dallas -- The A's aren't shopping Barry Zito as they shopped Tim Hudson last year at this time, and that means the trendy lefty might have a decent shot at staying in Oakland.
In an effort to make payroll and replenish the organization with young players, the A's traded Hudson to Atlanta a year ago. Two days later, for the same reasons, Mark Mulder was dealt to St. Louis.
Although the mainstream assessment is that Zito will go next, owner Lewis Wolff said the 2006 A's can make it work monetarily with Zito, who has one year remaining on his contract at $7.9 million -- not the $8.5 million widely reported.
"We can go the whole season the way we are, and any trades have to be positive trades -- not based on economics and trying to save money," Wolff said in a phone interview. "I assume (Zito) will be with us awhile. He's an A in '06 right now. It's really up to Billy."
Showing just how eager he is to trade Zito at the winter meetings, general manager Billy Beane left Tuesday night, with two full days remaining. Furthermore, unlike with Hudson, Beane said he'd consider speaking about a contract extension with Zito's agent, Arn Tellem.
Zito would be traded, implied Wolff, only if it benefited the on-field product. Wolff and majority partner John Fisher bought the A's just before Opening Day last year, and the team finished 88-74 and drew 2.1 million fans (eighth in the AL).
The payroll is increasing about 10 percent, Beane said, and Wolff, whose focus is building a new ballpark, confirmed it'll go deep into the $60 million range after the A's signed Esteban Loaiza to a three-year, $21 million contract.
"I'm just hoping we get positive fan reaction with our attendance," Wolff said. "Billy continues to field a fabulous team, and I hope fans who didn't support us in the past will start to. It's a very big goal for me. I've got to find out how strong we are in the local market.
"We're trying to put the most quality team on the field. We just don't want to go to the playoffs."
The A's haven't advanced past the first round of the postseason since 1990, when Cincinnati swept them in the World Series, and it's safe to say Zito would be a key to the A's hopes in 2006.
On Wednesday, with Beane in Washington, D.C., assistant GM David Forst reported no new business other than the A's offering arbitration to free-agent reliever Ricardo Rincon, which leaves open the possibility of his returning.
Scott Hatteberg, however, won't be back, at least as a player. The A's didn't offer arbitration to Hatteberg and three other free agents: Octavio Dotel, Erubiel Durazo and Alberto Castillo. The A's can't negotiate with them until May 1 and won't receive draft picks as compensation.
The A's haven't yet made a one-year, incentive-laden offer to free-agent Frank Thomas, who was not offered arbitration Wednesday by the White Sox, but it's in the works. As for a report of interest in Boston lefty David Wells, Forst hinted it was nonsense.
Teams -- including the Rangers and Mets -- interested in Zito would want a window to negotiate an extension so they wouldn't be stuck with a one-year player. But the A's, Forst said, wouldn't allow it. They didn't allow it for Hudson and Mulder, either.
"There are enough teams interested in Barry Zito," Forst said. "It hasn't come up in any conversations we've had." Forst also said the A's haven't initiated any of those conversations about Zito.
"Billy's not playing poker. We don't have to move Barry," Forst said. "We're prepared to keep him all season."
Or at least until the July 31 trade deadline, if the A's aren't contending at that point.
Manager Ken Macha, when asked Wednesday about retaining Zito, was quick with a reply.
"What are the odds he's coming back?" smiled Macha. "If it were up to me, 95 percent. It would have to be a deal that would knock us off our feet. ... Let me put it this way: I want Barry back."
So, apparently, does the owner.
"Since we both look alike," quipped Wolff, "I'd like to keep him."
E-mail John Shea at
jshea@sfchronicle.com.