Cody Ransom

Even though he hit 26 homers between Triple-A and New York, Ransom will have to compete for a reserve role this spring. He's had no sustained major league success thus far in his career, so there's little reason to expect that things will completely turn out for him at age 33.

A career minor leaguer, Ransom earned himself a callup with a .260/.333/.497 season at Triple-A Round Rock that included 28 homers and 90 RBI. He'll turn 32 in February, so there's really no upside here. If he makes the major league club, it will be as a utility infielder.

With the Giants signing Omar Vizquel, Ransom is now third behind Deivi Cruz for playing time at short. He spent 2004 going up and down between Triple-A Fresno and the majors, being recalled when Ray Durham was injured. He's got a decent glove, and is a sound second baseman as well.

With more speed and less power than Rich Aurilia, Ransom will make a competent, and much cheaper, replacement for the free agent. Ransom's fantasy value will be tied to how much playing time he can take from Neifi Perez, and how many bases he steals. He fits better as a fantasy backup, even given that NL shortstop is a shallow pool.

Ransom hit .207 in a full season at Triple-A Fresno, which is a little deceptive on the low side; his bat has some home run pop (13 in 135 games at Triple-A Fresno in 2002), and he can draw walks (47 of them last year, or one roughly every ten trips to the plate). As a matter of fact, when you look at his 151 strikeouts, his batting line looks like that of a slugging first baseman-DH who can't make contact often enough. However, he plays very well defensively at shortstop. Ransom turns 27 in the offseason, and he probably needs a move away from the Giants' chain and Rich Aurilia. You'd think an organization like Milwaukee or Kansas City would try to get this guy cheap and give him a year to see what he could do in the bigs.