Ron Villone

At this stage of his career, Villone's only value to major league teams is as a lefty-specialist and after his name was among those in Senator George Mitchell's steroid report in December - Villone allegedly purchased HGH from trainer Kirk Radomski - he may find very few suitors interested in his services.

Despite a rocky 2006 season, Villone has drawn plenty of interest as a free agent this winter. His strikeout numbers were good (72 in 80.1 IP) and he dominated left-handed hitters (.179 batting average against), but the chances of his future being in New York hinge more on the club's other offseason moves than anything else, but he will work as a left-handed specialist in a bullpen somewhere in 2007.

Villone "flopped" as the Marlins lone bullpen lefty at the end of 2005, as much as anyone could be said to flop in such a small sample of work. His strikeout rate was still good, however, and he should be a more than adequate middle man for the Yankees this season.

Villone was voted Seattle's most valuable pitcher last year, which should tell you something about the state of the pitching staff. His value, though, came in his versatility. He appeared in 56 games, including 10 starts, and pitched in every bullpen role except closer. He's less valuable as a fantasy pitcher, though, because of limited innings. He'll get you some holds and strikeouts along the way.

In 2002 with the Diamondbacks, Villone suffered a fractured sesamoid bone in his right foot and tried to pitch through the injury for the entire second half of that season. Alas, the information never became publicly known until the summer of 2003, so analysts had no way of knowing his performance was in part hampered by injury. It's not that Villone was ever a threat to earn Cy Young votes, but he's had his useful moments for fantasy owners throughout his career. His story is a reminder that while injury information is more widely available than in the past, we're still not dealing in a perfect information environment.

Villone, who had some flashes of effectiveness with the Reds, is now a mediocrity. He's a left-handed pitcher who doesn't even get lefties out - 2002 notwithstanding - well enough to be valuable as a specialist. He might help a team in low-leverage innings.