13:45 PST: Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports that the deal is one pending a physical.  The base salary is $2 million plus as much as $5.5 million with incentives should he reach benchmarks of 30 starts and 200 innings pitched.

Damon Lapa, Duchscherer’s agent, made it clear that his client wanted to be a starter.

The A’s rotation should be the following:  Duchscherer, Dallas Braden, Brett Anderson and Travor Cahill.  The fifth spot will between Vin Mazzaro and Gio Gonzalez.

12/24 10:11am PST: Jerry Crasnick of ESPN Tweets:  Justin Duchscherer has agreed in principle on one-year deal with A’s. Could be worth $5.5 million if he reaches his incentives.

19:52 PST: Ken Rosenthal Tweets:  Duchscherer leaning toward NL team. Not sure which one!

12/23 12:43pm PST: Michael Urban of Comcast Sports Network Tweets:  Learned that A’s are still talking to J. Cust. And don’t believe that J. Duchscherer is about to sign somewhere. He’s not. #MLB #Athletics

12/22 10:56am PST: Dejan Kovacevic reports that the Pirates have yet to make Duchscherer an offer, eliminating them from the running.

12/21 13:48 PST: ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick reports that free agent pitcher Justin Duchscherer has received contract offers from at least three undisclosed clubs.

• Now that Jason Marquis has signed with the Nationals, the top free agent pitchers right-handed starters include Joel Pineiro, Jon Garland, Brett Myers and Duchscherer.
• Some teams view Myers as a reliever.
• Pineiro and Garland are looking for contracts that are at least three years in length.
• Duchscherer, a two-time All Star, missed the 2009 season in Oakland because of elbow surgery and clinical depression.  He’s looking for a one-year deal to re-establish his market value.
• You can see Justin Duchscherer’s statistics here.