Royce Clayton

It was a fairly laughable notion that Clayton could somehow replace Felipe Lopez's bat in the lineup, and he wasn't even much of an improvement defensively. The Reds' offense dropped off dramatically following the trade, and Clayton's .235/.290/.329 line while with them played a decent role. Naturally, hitting coach Chris Chambliss was made the scapegoat instead. Clayton is now Toronto's problem -- he'll begin the year starting ahead of John McDonald, with Russ Adams back in the minors.

Clayton posted an abysmal .671 OPS last season, registered a range factor that was slightly below average for NL shortstops - but hey, for those few balls he got to, he looked really slick - and turned 36 in January. The only teams that'll give any thought to signing him are those that look only to his batting average for the last two years (no better home parks in the NL) and remember the occasional web gems. Unless Clayton winds up in a great hitter's park, stay away.

Clayton's 2004 campaign, including a career-high 160 hits, is proof that the thin air and roomy outfield in Colorado can salvage anyone's career. Expect a big decline as the starter in Arizona and we're not sure he can keep the job all season.

Clayton did not play well in 2003, hitting .228 with a .333 SLG. He'll provide solid defense, but he won't provide any offense - even if he makes the Colorado roster.

Clayton has consistently performed better at the plate over the second half of the season than the first half, but the net result still ranks him among the lower tier shortstops in the league.