Lyle Overbay

Overbay has played for four teams over the last three seasons as he continues to be a valuable pinch-hitter and backup first baseman for contending teams. Overbay will likely never approach .300 again, but the veteran has kept a good eye at the plate and has maintained some strong gap power, posting a .724 OPS the past three seasons. Though he had a great start to 2012 with the Diamondbacks, his hitting dropped off a cliff when he came over to Atlanta as he posted a .293 OPS in 21 plate appearances for the Braves. That is an awfully small sample size, though, and Overbay should continue to put up useful numbers in a bench role in 2013.

Overbay enjoyed a resurgence after the D-Backs signed him late in the season, but his .649 OPS with the Pirates for the better part of 2011 (352 at-bats) suggests that he's better suited for a part-time role than everyday duty. He re-signed on a one-year deal as a mentor and platoon partner for Paul Goldschmidt in 2012, and Overbay is unlikely to land a starting role at this stage of his career.

Overbay's final season in Toronto last year was another mixed bag as he hit just .243 with 20 homers and 67 RBI. He's been a below-average option in most formats since his 2006 peak, though he may benefit a bit from the move to the NL. He'll compete for an everyday role with the Pirates after inking a one-year deal in the offseason.

Overbay put together a nice enough season (.265 average, 16 homers, 64 RBI) but there just isn't a lot of upside here. He's in the last year of his contract and has a reasonable price tag ($7 million) so don't be surprised if the Jays listen to offers this offseason, especially if they can't find any suckers to take the remainder of Vernon Wells' mega-deal off their hands. He's on the wrong side of 30 to expect anything more than what he already is. He'll be back as the team's starting first baseman unless they move him this offseason.

Overbay finished with a .270 average, 15 homers and 69 RBI last year. It was certainly an improvement over his 2007 season (.240/10/44) but it's pretty clear he's past his peak. He'll be back as the team's starting first baseman, but he provides below average power from the position and the ceiling isn't very high at this stage of his career.

Overbay had his season interrupted by a broken hand in early June, and he never recovered (.225/.299/.321 following his return from the DL). He's a good bet to appraoch .300 and 20 home runs when healthy, with extra value for those in OBP-counting leagues.

Overbay had a nice year for the Blue Jays, posting a .372 OBP and swatting 22 homers along the way. He predictably benefited playing in Toronto (.325/.383/.583) and hit over .310 in every month but April, so there's little reason to think he can't do it again. Mentioned as a candidate for the second spot in the order, behind Reed Johnson and ahead of a bunch of mashers, Overbay figures to have a nice year again. He'll be the rarest of all birds however: A Left-Handed-Hitting Blue Jay.

Overbay was moved to the Blue Jays to open up a spot in Milwaukee for Prince Fielder. He played well in 2005 with his usual strong on-base average, but doesn't hit enough home runs to be a top first baseman. However, he'll get the majority of starts at first base for the Blue Jays.

Overbay had a spectacular first half and an average second half in 2004. He finished with a .301 average 53 doubles, and a .385 OBP. Those are good numbers for most players, but you usually want a little more from your first baseman. The conventional wisdom is that he is just holding the position until Prince Fielder is ready to make the jump to the majors, either late in 2005 or to start 2006. The Brewers may try to move him to the outfield when that happens but more likely they will trade him.

Overbay picked the wrong time to slump for the Diamondbacks last year, as Bob Brenly lost patience waiting for Overbay's power stroke last year and finally moved Shea Hillenbrand to first base for the stretch run. He'll finally get a chance to show what he can do in a full season with the Brewers in 2004, and he has about a one-to-two year window to prove himself before Prince Fielder starts banging down the door.

Overbay hit .343-19-109 in a full season at Triple-A in 2002. With Erubiel Durazo gone and Mark Grace moving to a part-time role, Overbay inherits the Diamondbacks' regular first base job going into 2003. He's only had 12 career big-league at-bats going into this season, so Overbay will get some on-the-job-training this season and will potentially look bad against some pitchers, especially lefties, the first time he faces them. Plus, Overbay will be a rookie in a Bob Brenly lineup, which means he's a candidate for pine time any time he goes 0-for-12 in a series, which is probably bound to happen at some point. Overbay has hit very well in the minors and could do well in the bigs, but you may want to be playing someone else at first base for at least the first two months of the season as Overbay gets used to major league pitching.