Jay Witasick

An early season ankle injury sunk his battleship in 2006, so he probably deserves a do-over. He tried to come back too quickly and had two rather ghastly outings, allowing 7 earned runs and retiring just two batters in back-to-back outings before heading back to the disabled list with the same ankle injury. Outside of a stretch of dominace with the Rockies in 2005, he hasn't been anything more than your average short reliever recently. With Huston Street firmly entrenched as the A's closer, Witasick doesn't appear to have much fantasy value.

Witasick has posted back-to-back solid seasons in relief, which was enough for the A's to re-sign him to a two-year contract that more or less makes him the de facto setup man for closer Huston Street. There are other strong arms in the A's bullpen, though, so early struggles could lead to a reduced role. Witasick doesn't have a jaw-dropping strikeout rate or good enough control to post an outstanding WHIP, so there are plenty of better staff-filling options.

Witasick was more useful in 2004 than in 2003, but he best serves as a reminder that journeymen middle relievers shouldn't get multi-year deals after a good year or two in NL pitcher's parks.

After a stellar 2002 campaign with the Giants, the right-hander returned to the Padres and was the odds-on favorite to close when Trevor Hoffman went down. Instead, he missed 64 games when he suffered a pre-season elbow injury, a result of lifting heavy garbage bags (?) while throwing out the trash. When he returned, he was average as the set-up man to Rod Beck, and 2004 should find him in two-inning middle relief, a role he has thrived in historically, and one he should excel in again.

Witasick earned eight wins in 63 non-closer relief appearances in 2001, which is great value from a set-up man in a fantasy context. Witasick then went on to pitch better in 2002, dropping his ERA from 3.30 to 2.37, cutting his WHIP from 1.4 to 1.15, reducing his walks by a third, and giving up just three homers in 2002 versus eight in 2001. But . . . in 2002, Dusty Baker only brought him in when the Giants were trailing, for the most part. Therefore, Witasick's won-loss record went from 8-2 in 2001 to 1-0 in 2002. So, even though Witasick was a better pitcher in real life, his value plummeted in our little fantasy worlds thanks to Baker's usage patterns.