Scott Hatteberg and the Oakland Athletics agreed to terms for a one-year contract on Friday. The contract is reportedly worth around a million dollars, and may include an option for 2003.

Hatteberg became a free agent after the Boston Red Sox traded him to the Colorado Rockies, and the Rockies non-tendered him. He could help the Athletics, but his arrival will also stir up a roster very well-stocked with other possibilities at his positions. While he has been a catcher for the vast majority of his major league time and never played a game at 1B in the majors, the A's feel that their catching situation is solidified without Hatteberg behind the plate and intend to try him at first base.

Ramon Hernandez, who now has more than two full seasons under his belt with Oakland, is their starting catcher. He has a decent bat that still shows the potential for further growth, which is excellent for a catcher who is also very good defensively. He is their starting catcher of the future and the present. Greg Myers is their backup, and also sports a good bat and an acceptable level of defense, although I doubt that the club would have re-signed him if they had known that Hatteberg would be joining the team. Depending on how well Hatteberg works out elsewhere on the diamond, Oakland may find themselves looking to trade Myers. The odd man out here is Tom Wilson. Even if the A's have no plans to catch Hatteberg, they don't need to carry four guys who can catch. Wilson will probably be sent to AAA, provided another team doesn't wisely snatch him off waivers on the way down.

Since the team plans to give Hatteberg a shot at first base and possibly experiment with him elsewhere on the field, we should look at the rest of the players vying for playing time in the areas of 1B, LF, and DH.

David Justice, provided he stays healthy, should play full-time either in left or as the DH. He has an advantage over the other candidates for playing time in that he can play the outfield, is being payed a significant sum of money, and has the most established bat.

Jeremy Giambi would probably be my choice to play full-time at first base. There is a lot of appeal to allowing him to step in and fill his older brother's shoes, and his bat appears primed to explode this year. However, even though prospect Jason Hart still needs at least a year in AAA, they may not want to block his upward momentum with a player with as much potential as Giambi. In that, case they would be looking for filler for another year to two years, until Hart is ready to take over. Under those circumstances, I would say that Giambi should split time with Justice in LF and at DH, and given their stated plans for Hatteberg, I think that might be what they have in mind.

Assuming they take Frank Menechino and Esteban German for 2B, Miguel Tejada at SS, Eric Chavez at 3B, Jermaine Dye for RF, and Terrance Long for CF, as well as the four players just discussed, 11 pitchers, and Hatteberg, they will have three roster spots left to fill. One of them should be filled with their Rule 5 draft pick Jason Grabowski, who is a very good 25th man as he can adequately fill almost any position on the diamond. That leaves them with two open spots and a number of choices.

I would give one spot to Adam Piatt, who should be fully recovered from viral meningitis and ready to excel. Given his offensive potential and the skill of the A's hitting instructors, he should be a very good 4th outfielder and is probably capable of starting in LF.

With Hatteberg and Giambi capable of playing 1B and the number of player's already eyeing the DH job, I would use the final spot on a back up outfielder, who has the defensive skills to play center. Both Mike Colangelo and Eric Byrnes fit this profile. I don't see them having room for someone like Rob Ryan. Outfield prospect Ryan Ludwick, like Jason Hart, still needs at least a year at AAA, and might need even a bit more development time than Hart.

Now the roster is full, and we haven't even discussed Olmedo Seanz or Mario Valdez. Seanz just doesn't fit since despite some capability at first and third, they have way too many people with more promise needing at-bats at his positions. If the catcher is able to pick up the skills he needs to field 1B by the end of spring training, Hatteberg basically replaces Valdez and adds more versatility to the roster.

So if they don't intend to use Hatteberg as a catcher, where they admittedly have little need for him, I don't think this acquisition makes a lot of sense. Giambi would have been fine at 1B, Piatt could have played LF, and Justice could have DH'd. Then they would have been able to carry both Mike Colangelo and Eric Byrnes or one of the other players, and could have given playing time to young guys who really deserve it. Of course, they could add one more of these players if they leave Esteban German off the roster to start the season, but he is really ready to start and they'll need to bring him up fairly soon regardless. Plus, without German forcing Menechino into a backup role, they're short a backup middle infielder, which necessitates adding someone like Mark Ellis to the roster. I think that they should seriously look into trading Greg Myers, if they don't want to cheat some very capable guys out of playing time.

Obviously this is just my opinion of how things should work out in spring training, and given the multitude of variables and the ever present possibility of injuries, we'll just have to wait and see. If I haven't been clear about something, it's probably because the whole situation is about as clear as mud, but feel free to e-mail any requests you might have for clarification of my arguments and/or any counter arguments you may have to my opinions.

Have a Safe and Happy New Year.