Alex Gonzalez

Gonzalez declined last season in the field and at the plate with Atlanta, but enters 2012 as the starting shortstop in Milwaukee after signing a one-year deal with the Brewers. Gonzalez hit 15 home runs, but posted the worst OBA (.270) since his second season in the majors. He's never walked much, but made even less contact as he struck out a career-high 126 times. He also slipped in the field, where he declined in most advanced fielding metrics (his UZR went from sixth-best among all shortstops in 2010 to 9th worst in 2011). Still, he may have job security since he'll appear to be an upgrade over Yuniesky Betancourt, especially in the field where he could bounce back to being an asset with the glove. He'll offer power for fantasy owners, but is a batting average risk given his low walk rate and declining contact rate.

Gonzalez put up a career-high 23 home runs and 88 RBI last season and enters 2011 as the starting shortstop for the Braves. Gonzalez hit 17 home runs with a .793 OPS in Toronto before he was traded to Atlanta in July. He didn't hit as well in the NL (.676 OPS), and hit six home runs in 72 games with the Braves. Gonzalez has a strong glove (sixth-best UZR among all shortstops last year) and good power for a shortstop, but there are reasons not to overpay for last year's stats. He doesn't draw walks which makes his batting average a risk, he's been injury prone in his career but was healthy last season and his home-run numbers have been erratic during his career.

Gonzalez is as steady as they come with the glove and he solidified Boston's highly fluid shortstop position when he arrived at the trade deadline. He's still got some pop from the position and will be plying his craft as the Blue Jays' starter in 2010. Injuries have limited him to just 115 games per year over the last five seasons, and that's when you throw out a 2008 that Gonzalez lost entirely to a compression fracture in his knee.

Gonzalez missed the entire 2008 season thanks to a compression fracture in his knee that was slow to heal. The Reds are saying all the right things about him being available for the start of spring training, but he wasn't able to participate in winter ball as first planned. If his knee holds up, and if there's not too much rust from missing an entire season, Gonzalez will provide some power, at the likely cost of a low batting average.

Gonzalez's season was limited last year by knee and arm injuries, and by the extended illness of his infant son. When he was in the lineup, however, he set a personal high in slugging percentage, offset by his usual poor plate discipline. Meanwhile, Jeff Keppinger emerged as a viable alternative (at least offensively) in Gonzalez's absence. Gonzalez has two more years on his deal, so the job is his, but Keppinger could get another shot if he gets off to a slow start at the plate.

Gonzalez hit better than most expected for Boston last season and played stellar defense, which is something the Red Sox missed in 2005 when Edgar Renteria made over 30 errors. All in all, he played well enough to come back, but Boston chose to go in another direction (Julio Lugo) and Gonzalez was snapped up the Reds. He'll be the starting shortstop in 2007, and could get a bump in offense moving to a better hitter's environment at the Great American Ball Park.

His power stroke left him just as suddenly as it arrived, though the elbow injury that cost him 30-odd games probably had something to do with that. Free agency probably came a year too late for Gonzalez, and rather than pulling down a Renteria- or Guzman-sized deal, he might have to settle for something far more modest from a team looking for an old school, defense first shortstop.

Gonzalez maintained the power stroke he found in 2003, and seems to have turned into the NL equivalent of Jose Valentin (low BA, good HR), although with a better glove. The 'other' Alex Gonzalez had some similar numbers around his Age 27 season too, and we suspect a similar quick decline might be coming for Sea Bass in a couple of years.

Sea Bass had an OPS of 1.000 as late as June 7, giving rise to all sorts of alien abduction/gamma-irradiated, sunflower-seed theories, but by season's end his numbers had sunk to about where they were in his rookie year. It was still the best performance of his career, and his glove was still excellent, but when your career year features a .313 OBP, you know offense is not your forte.

If either Alex Gonzalez had ever learned to take a walk, it would be so much less confusing. We could be talking about the good Alex Gonzalez and the bad Alex Gonzalez, instead of the bad Alex Gonzalez and the worse Alex Gonzalez. This is the worse one, a status not helped by shoulder surgery in July. Career high in OBP: .308 in his rookie year. Career OBP: .284 over four seasons. 'Nuff said.