Matt Mantei

Mantei's 2005 season was cut short due to an ankle injury that eventually landed him on the 60-day disabled list. It's now been three years since the last full and successful season for Mantei, who never was able to harness his fastball with Boston last year. At 32, he can still be an effective reliever if he can regain a modicum of command.

Mantei lost much of last season to injury, including surgery to remove a bone spur that was cutting into the labrum of his pitching shoulder, but he pitched lights-out for a good chunk of 2003 and can be very effective if healthy. Add him to the set-up mix in Boston.

Mantei missed six weeks due to a sore shoulder that bothered him all year, but he did have a two-month stretch where he was as hot as any closer in the league, including Eric Gagne. He'll start the year as Arizona's closer in 2004, but with his contact expiring this year, a trade is a strong possibility, so he's a little risky. If healthy, he'd be among the top 12 closers in baseball, but if you draft him, you should back him up with Jose Valverde just in case.

Mantei's injury in 2001 allowed Byung-Hyun Kim to take the closer job away from him at Arizona, and his fantasy value in 2003 will be very dependent on whether the Diamondbacks trade Kim away. If they do, Mantei becomes Arizona's closer, and he'd be worth looking at in NL leagues once the first six to eight closers are gone. He'd have 25-save potential if Bob Brenly uses him as a closer regularly, and, when healthy, he's averaged 10.4 strikeouts per nine innings over the past three seasons. If Mantei is not a closer, however, he becomes just a set-up man with a great strikeout rate.