Ben Grieve

Grieve hasn't seen 250 AB since 2002, nor has he posted a .800 OPS or 20 HR since 2000. On the plus side, he still has a career .369 OBP and is only 28 years old. Expect someone to offer him a job as a fourth OF, and if things break his way, he could surprise.

Grieve's slugging average dropped almost 90 points in 2003. However, his OBP rebounded. Now that he's fully healthy and out of St. Petersburg (a place he couldn't wait to leave from his first day in town), if he winds up in a good hitter's environment and gets some ABs, he could surprise in 2004.

Grieve's performance at the plate was awful in 2001, and improved to not-quite-average in 2002. His homers were up (from 11 to 19), so was his slugging average (.387 to .432), and he cut down his strikeouts by almost 25% (159 to 121). But still, with the Rays around him hitting even less productively in '02 than they were in '01, his RBI and runs scored went down. He'll turn just 27 in May, and is more likely to improve further this season. Lou Piniella will play him in left field rather than right in 2003; with his contract up this year, he could put up some big numbers. Don't shoot the moon on him, but he could provide a great return on your late-round draft pick.