Alex Cintron

Cintron's posted some decent power and speed totals for a middle infielder in the past (13 homers in 2003, 10 steals in 2006), but really doesn't bring much to the table on a consistent basis. He's a fairly nifty guy for a manager to have at his disposal at the end of the bench but his utility ends there. Coming off a disappointing season (.243 average, two homers, 19 RBI in 185 at-bats) and eligible for salary arbitration, the White Sox cut him loose. He'll latch on somewhere in a utility role as the quest for a fully-vested pension upon retirement begins in earnest.

Having a guy like Cintron around is pretty smart for GM Kenny Williams. With streaky offensive players like Tadahito Iguchi, Juan Uribe and Joe Crede in the starting roles, Cintron can fill in with an above-average bat, a touch of power and decent speed. He's no more than reasonable defensively, which keeps him out of the everyday lineup. The White sox would like more of the same from Cintron in 2007.

Cintron's power stroke came back a little last year after an ugly 2004. But check out that declining walk rate over the last three seasons: Cintron had just nine unintentional walks in 346 PA in 2005, and that's not good. He could be in the mix for a starting spot in Arizona's middle infield in the spring, but that could well just be a temporary job until Stephen Drew is ready to step up. If he doesn't become more selective at the plate and fast, this may be Cintron's last chance to nail down a job as a regular in the majors.

Cintron's offensive collapse in 2004 was just one of the factors behind Arizona's awful season. However, with Scott Hairston playing awful defense at second and dissing management daily, Cintron was moved from short to second in September. He looked decent there, so the D-Backs decided to have Cintron and Matt Kata compete for the second base job in the spring. The winner of this position battle will have some value in NL-only leagues.

Cintron pulled off what we thought would be an impossible task in 2003 - making Bob Brenly realize that Tony Womack is an awful major league hitter. With Womack slumping early and Cintron hitting .393 after a month of play at Triple-A, the D-Backs brought him up, and Cintron basically stayed in the lineup all year, finally settling in at shortstop by the end of the season. With Womack and Craig Counsell both gone, Cintron will be the D-Backs' regular shortstop in 2004, and with his power, he's a great shortstop option in NL leagues. Be aware, however, that Cintron has a pretty sizable lefty-righty split at this point in his career (.358 versus lefties in '03, .296 the other way), so in daily leagues, you may want to sit him down occasionally against some righties.

Cintron plays defense well at second, short, and third, but he hasn't proved he can hit well enough (.220-0-4, no steals, in 82 career MLB at-bats) to hold down a regular job, even with an out-machine like Tony Womack at short. However, he turns just 25 in the spring, and he did hit .322 in 85 games at Triple-A last year, so the jury's still out on his bat. Unless someone gets hurt, he'll probably be just a spare infielder in Bob Brenly's toolbox, which makes him a dollar play at best.