Clay Hensley

Hensley wasn't able to duplicate his 2010 success, struggling though a broken shoulder blade and an emergency transition to the rotation. He's only one year removed from an impressive performance in the Florida bullpen (9.24 K/9IP, 3.48 BB/IP), so the injury may have caused the regression last season. The Marlins dropped him from the 40-man roster in the December, but he'll probably get a look from someone this spring on the strength of his aforementioned 2010 numbers.

After years of being labeled as a Quad-A swing man, the Marlins pressed Hensley into middle relief service and his career took off. Ditching his inconsistent slider for a slow curve and changeup, he went from journeyman to closer by the end of the season and the Marlins expect him to be a big part of their late-inning plans again in 2011. A repeat performance may be unlikely, especially in the strikeout department given that he rarely breaks 90 mph even with his fastball, but Doug Jones and Trevor Hoffman got by pretty well with similarly uninspiring stuff. If you're hunting for cheap saves Hensley is as good a gamble as any.

Coming off of a torn right labrum that ended his 2007 season in mid-September, Hensley, a former starter, had his 2008 debut delayed and was used as a reliever at Triple-A Portland when he came back in early May. He was promoted to the big club in early July where he continued to work out of the bullpen. Hensley walks far too many hitters to be useful, as he has issued 57 free passes in 89 big league innings the past two seasons. He's in the mix for a bullpen job with Houston after signing there in December.

Hensley is trying to regroup after a train wreck of a 2007 season. He began the year in the Padres' rotation and turned in an ugly 6.84 ERA in 50 innings. Hensley spent about half the season in Triple-A, where he also struggled, before his season came to an early end due to a torn labrum. Hensley will resume throwing in January and could win a rotation spot with an excellent spring. Don't count on it, as the sinkerballer struggles with his control (152:108 K:BB over his past two major league seasons) and the Padres have a wealth of options.

Hensley surprisingly started 29 games in 2006, mainly due to a rash of injuries. With an effective sinker in tow, he is expected to serve as San Diego's third or fourth starter in 2007.

Hensley was called up in July initially to serve as a long-reliever for the beleaguered bullpen, but he stuck with the club and wound up a pleasant surprise in 2005. His success should earn him more mop-up duty in 2006, though after testing positive for performance enhancing drugs, he can't be counted upon to achieve the same numbers.

Acquired by the Padres in the Matt Herges deal, Hensley has quality control but his stuff has been referred to as sub-par. Other than throwing a perfect game for the Hagerstown Suns in May 2003, his career has been otherwise unremarkable, having failed to dominate at either level of Single A.