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.

Says the San Francisco Chronicle’s Ray Ratto, “We’re not sure if the signing is fully and solely Beane’s idea, although it does have that Frank Thomas/remainder bin feel to it.” Ratto takes the stance that Giambi’s return is best deployed as a reason for fans to return to the ballpark.

“Remainder bin” is an interesting way to put Beane’s preference for searching the scrap heap for power hitters. Thomas fit the bill (twice) and so did Mike Piazza. Some of these guys have worked out, some haven’t. Giambi falls right in line with Thomas and Piazza in that he is cheap, advancing in age, and with no guarantees he’ll produce. As a small market franchise, these are the types of players the A’s must target.

The term “Moneyball” gets loosely kicked around when describing Oakland, which is misleading. Beane doesn’t use different methodology to gain a competitive advantage, he uses it to cut into an existing competitive disadvantage. The A’s must strictly adhere to an organizational philosophy, which calls for patient hitters, premium evaluation of pitching prospects, and tremendous development of minor league talent.

At the big league level, it also calls for creative ways of finding tools that come with expensive premiums, namely power. That’s where Giambi comes in. In addition to his roots as an organizational guy with a .408 career on-base percentage, Giambi has still shown 30-home run power, albeit in a package that can rarely ever be used on the field.

As Ratto notes, Giambi’s addition as a full-time DH sends lumbering Jack Cust into a full-time role in left field. By our calculations, that leaves Oakland with three such lumbering big men in Cust, Giambi and first baseman Daric Barton. For Beane, when it comes to these kinds of additions, we may as well equate “inexpensive” with “unathletic.”

Fantasy Spin
In spite of his elderly status, Giambi remains fantasy-relevant. The obvious knock is his batting average, which sits in the .250 range in a good year, but there’s a nice home run total to be had in the late, late stages of drafts. Owners will no doubt assume he’s washed up heading into the season, which leaves a risk/reward opportunity after the 15th round of drafts.

We say consider him as an option, but treat his power as “icing on the cake” as opposed to “team saver.”