Edgar Renteria

Battling injuries for the second straight year, Renteria hit .276 with only three homers over 243 at-bats last season. Of course, he more than made up for it in the postseason, when he won the World Series MVP. The Reds signed Renteria to a one-year deal in January, and he'll compete with Paul Janish for the starting shortstop job. The change in venue will help his stats a little bit, but it may not offset his advancing age.

Renteria was a complete bust during his first season in San Francisco, batting just .250 with five home runs over 450 at-bats. His .635 OPS was the lowest of his career, and since his range at shortstop is now average, signing him to a two-year deal was a clear mistake by GM Brian Sabean. At age 34, Renteria is clearly in the decline phase, although a modest bounce back could be in store, as it was later revealed he was playing through painful bone chips and spurs in his elbow throughout last season. Surgery ended his year a couple of weeks early, but Renteria is expected to enter 2010 at full strength. He’s locked in as the Giants’ starting shortstop.

Renteria's numbers at the end of 2008 weren't terrible but the Tigers felt he underperformed with the bat and regressed defensively. The team opted to let him leave via free agency after declining his option at the end of the season. Renteria doesn't hit for much power and doesn't swipe many bags but he does normally hit around .300. He returned to the NL, where Renteria has thrived throughout his career, by signing a two-year deal with the Giants. He's not a high end option at shortstop but he'll be a decent use of a roster spot should you miss out on some of the top names at short.

Renteria will start at shortstop for the Tigers after he was traded from Atlanta in the offseason. His new home ballpark may reduce his home runs, but he may score more runs with more RBI amid Detroit's stacked lineup. Renteria has a well-rounded game and offers double digit power and stolen bases along with a solid eye at the plate, which usually results in a strong batting average. He's often forgotten on draft day, but he's now one of the AL's top shortstops.

Renteria showed his subpar 2005 season was an exception and he regained his status as one of the better hitting shortstops in the N.L. Renteria had the second-most home runs of his career and the fielding problems that plagued him in Boston became an afterthought in Atlanta. He also got the green light on the basepaths a bit more. He's a decent bet for a 15-home run, 15-stolen base season as a result.

Renteria's 2003 season is looking more and more like an anomaly. Although he wasn't as bad as the media morons in Boston made him out to be, Renteria severely underachieved with the Red Sox in 2005 and the team was all too eager to get rid of him in the offseason. They found a taker in Atlanta, where he'll take Rafael Furcal's spot at shortstop. He had some back problems in '05, but his mounting error totals overshadowed any legitimate reason for subpar production, and turned the home town against him. A new start in Atlanta may help soothe some of the hurt and he's still a decent producer at the shortstop position.

Renteria offers a combination of defense and power that few shortstops can match. He had a down 2004, but a lot of that was due to back troubles during a poor month of May. Moving to Fenway Park should help his power numbers and he'll remain a top shortstop this season.

The best shortstop in the National League got better in 2003, with career highs in average and power. He doesn't have to hit .330 to be great, and he may continue to add more power and have the kind of years Barry Larkin had in 1995 and 1996. How many people realize that Edgar Renteria is a better player than Derek Jeter?

Renteria had the best season of his career in 2002, going .305/.364/.439 with 11 home runs and 22 steals. Renteria cut down on his strikeouts, fanning a career-low 57 times, while walking 49. Still just 27, there’s no reason Renteria shouldn’t at the very least come close to repeating last season’s totals, and we could see his power numbers increase as he hits his prime.