Bringing homegrown star Jason Giambi back to Oakland went from foregone conclusion to cold hard fact Wednesday, with the slugger agreeing to a one-year, $5.25-million deal, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. General manager Billy Beane’s priority this offseason was to add some more pop to an offense that ranked among baseball’s worst in 2008. And, as has become his M.O., he has done so in a very budget-friendly way.

After branching out and trading three players to Colorado for Matt Holliday, Beane sought another big bat to round out the middle of his lineup. Giambi, though turning 38 and on the decline, should be slotted in nearly every day as the team’s designated hitter. Read more »

Saw Matt Wieters play as a freshman at Georgia Tech in 2005. He was a larger-than-life, switch-hitting catcher, not to mention a closer whose fastball soared into the mid-90s. The college baseball community knew then what the nation will learn very soon: Wieters has star potential.

The only question remaining is not if Wieters will be wearing a Baltimore Orioles uniform in 2009, it’s when? The O’s seemingly cleared the way for him to play every day, trading veteran Ramon Hernandez to the Cincinnati Reds for utility man Ryan Freel. But, there are no guarantees on his arrival, which is more likely to happen mid-season than in April. Read more »