Emil Brown

He led the Royals in RBI in 2007 with 62, but launched just six home runs, and his .647 OPS was the lowest in his three seasons with the Royals. The low number of at-bats (366) was a result of injury and the coming on of young outfielders like Mark Teahen, Joey Gathright and David DeJesus. The Royals non-tendered Brown in December, making him a free agent.

He's led the Royals in RBI for the past two seasons, he was among the American League leaders with 41 doubles and was the only stable offensive player on the squad, playing 147 games. He doesn't hit a lot of home runs, which is his offensive kryptonite, but still slugged over .450 for the second straight season. He's also opportunistic, lofting 10 sacrifice flies last season, tied for second in the majors. In 2006, his defense improved markedly, but that was more through sheer athleticism than skill. Instead of being a rising star, the 32-year-old is once again entering a season wondering if he will come out of spring with a full-time job, on a different team or whether the many talented young pups in the Royals' organization will knock him into a platoon.

A gap hitter without a booming home-run bat, Brown had been in the majors before, just never long enough to show anything. The Royals offered him that chance, and he responded by being the team's most consistent offensive performer all season. Brown was tried in left field late in the season in hopes the Royals could secure a powerful right field bat. The Royals also hoped he would be a better left fielder than he was in right (12 errors). The good news is, after playing for six different teams since 2001, a Major League team is considering keeping him around another season.