Jason Giambi on Wednesday agreed to a one-year, $4-million contract with the Oakland Athletics with a club option for 2010. Throughout the offseason to this point, it seemed likely that Giambi would return to Oakland, where he won the American League Most Valuable Player in 2000 and enjoyed the best performances of his controversial career.

In addition to the California ties, anyone who has read Moneyball is aware of Billy Beane's infatuation with Giambi. There were some other teams interested in the left-handed hitting slugger as well, including the Tampa Bay Rays. The glut of players with a similar skill set on the market, though, drove the price down for his services, leading to a seemingly bargain move for Beane and the A's as several of the teams looking for an impact bat filled their needs with other options.

It is difficult not to like this signing, especially considering the dollars and length given to the players who have already dropped off the market to this point-Milton Bradley (three years, $30-million), Pat Burrell (two years, $16-million), Raul Ibanez (three years, $31.5-million).

Giambi, while he comes with some baggage, is still a nice hitter and will add some serious on-base skills and power to a lineup that was starved for both in 2008. Oakland finished dead last in the A.L. in on-base percentage and slugging percentage. Not coincidentally, they also rounded out the rear in runs scored as well. Jack Cust, the poster boy for the Three True Outcome hitter, was the only regular to hit more than 20 home runs and slug higher than .450 an on the entire 25-man roster. Even more concerning, Cust (132) and Ryan Sweeney (101) were the only Athletic regulars to post an OPS+ above 100, the barometer for league average.

Beane helped upgrade his offensive attack when he acquired Matt Holliday in a surprise blockbuster with the Colorado Rockies in November, causing some to believe that he was shifting his course. However, even with the addition of Holliday, whose numbers should decline a bit as he moves away from Coors Field, there were still concerns about the lineup in Oakland. Although some major holes remain, the newest Athletic will definitely help out on this front.

Giambi had some ups and downs after signing a seven-year, $120-million contract with the New York Yankees following his 1.137 OPS campaign with Oakland in 2001. Injuries limited his offensive production, and he will forever be linked to his admission of using performance-enhancing drugs during his days in the Bronx. He ended his tenure on a high note, though, before being forced out with the impending arrival of Mark Teixeira.

Giambi hit .247/.373/.502 with 32 home runs, 96 RBIs and a 128 OPS+ in 458 at-bats in his final hurrah with the Yankees. Although he got off to a slow start, he delivered some big hits, getting hot during several important stretches. He also maintained his tremendous patience at the plate, producing a 14.2 BB% in 565 plate appearances.

For those scoring at home, Giambi finished with the same exact OPS+ total as Grady Sizemore, and a better mark than Burrell, Adam Dunn, Ibanez and David Ortiz. In addition, his line should look even better; his .247 BABIP and 17.1 line drive rate indicate that he had a fair share of bad luck. The just-turned-38-year-old has posted OPS totals of 161, 148, 108 and 128 from 2005-'08, respectively, and should enjoy a return back to a laid-back environment without intense media scrutiny. Bill James projects him to hit .244/.388/.484 with 29 home runs. It would not be all that surprising to see him top those totals, though moving away from the short right field porch in Yankee stadium and into a more difficult hitting environment, McAfee Colliseum, will obviously have negative effects on his output.

Giambi certainly has some flaws, most notably his poor defense at first base. He has been a below-average defender there for a long time, getting close to the point in which his output at the position is not playable. As teams continue to place more of an emphasis on defense, his inability to add any contributions on the other side of the ball certainly drove down his price tag as well. Moving to Oakland, he will DH a lot, of course; however, this means that the always-entertaining Cust outfield experiment will have to continue. Unlike 2002, when the A's had no problem sending Jeremy Giambi out to left field as business writer Michael Lewis documented in his bestselling book, the organization cares a lot more about defense. In addition, at-bats might become scarce for once-top prospect Daric Barton. Barton, who had a disappointing rookie year, has already done all that he can at Triple-A.

With that said, these concerns seem minor when compared to the potential gain. In fact, the limited risk due to the length-with a $1.25 million buyout for '10-makes this an excellent move for Oakland. Beane added a potent hitter to the middle of his lineup, improving the A's chances of competing in the A.L. West in 2009 without incurring a substantial cost that will set Oakland back in the long run. Giambi will likely live up to his paycheck with relative ease, barring an injury-related drop off similar to 2004 and 2007, when he hovered close to replacement-level at times during his worst stretches in New York.

The Los Angeles Angels, after losing Garret Anderson and Teixeira, are vulnerable. The Angels' offense was fairly mediocre even though the club won a league-best 100 games. With Vladimir Guerrero continuing to age, Los Angeles will likely have difficulty scoring runs again, perhaps more so going forward. Also, if the Angels play closer to their Pythag record (their run differential pegged them at an 88-win team in '08), they could lose their lock on the division.

The A's, if they can maintain their solid run prevention efforts (and perhaps receive a boost from their minor league pitching talent) and improve on offense, could strike, surprising the world. If Beane does not see his team contending, though, he can deal Holliday at the trade deadline to a desperate suitor, with the chance to bring in more than what he sent to the Rockies. Depending on how it works out with Giambi, he could then choose to buy him out as well, without affecting his long-term vision for the franchise.

Either way, Oakland is in good shape.