MESA, Ariz. -- A's right fielder Josh Reddick arrived in camp Tuesday morning, fresh off his annual three-day road trip from Georgia to Arizona, and he reiterated his desire to stay in Oakland and sign a long-term deal.
Even though Reddick said his camp is "still waiting" to hear from the A's, general manager David Forst made it clear that the interest remains mutual, even though discussions have yet to form.
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"We talked before he did his one-year contract, we talked about the possibility of a multi-year deal, and because of the deadlines involved with arbitration, we just decided we would wait," Forst said. "We've effectively played phone tag since then. He was at the Super Bowl; I went to the Dominican. You leave messages."
The A's may be facing a short window to reach a new deal, however, given Reddick's preference to not let negotiations spill into the season.
"Me and my agents talked, and I was told as soon as we got the one-year deal done, we were going to focus on [a long-term deal], and here we are and still no numbers are being thrown around," Reddick said. "I don't want to come in here and distract my teammates as well as myself when the season starts.
"Obviously, it still has to be the right number and show what I'm worth, but, yes, I'm definitely very interested." 
"I know Josh has stated his deadline," Forst said. "That's his decision, not ours, but it's something we're interested in discussing. Josh is an important part of this organization. He's been here for four years now. He's been an important part of some very successful teams, and he's an important part of everything we do. … Like Josh said, you have to match up, and the numbers are important. We have not gotten to that point of the conversation."
A's vice president Billy Beane publicly targeted Reddick as an extension candidate early in the offseason, while manager Bob Melvin said Tuesday he likes the idea of Reddick staying put, in part "because you want some continuity."
"You want at least a couple different guys that are here for a while," Melvin said. "Coco [Crisp] has been here a while, and there aren't many of them, but when you have guys that really want to be here, it's nice to see. He's definitely one of those guys. He expressed an interest in that early in the offseason, and hopefully we can get something done."
After missing significant time with injuries in 2013-14, following a 32-homer performance in 2012, Reddick put forth a strong 2015 campaign, batting .272/.333/.449 with 20 home runs. He's long been considered one of the game's better defensive outfielders, so if he has similar offensive numbers this season, he'll be in line for a nice payday.
Reddick, 29, would also be entering a weaker free-agent-outfield market than the 2015-16 class, amplifying his value. He's making $6.575 million in his final arbitration season.
The outfielder began his throwing program ahead of his typical schedule this winter as a proactive effort to avoid the same issues with his throwing shoulder that he said affected his accuracy last year.
Reddick also clocked several hours working with his charitable organization, the Josh Reddick Foundation, in Georgia, raising $50,000 for various community services in Effingham County, including the police and fire departments.