Manny Ramirez

In a season shortened to 104 games due to a drug suspension, Ramirez batted .290/.418/.531 with 19 homers and 63 RBI. Prorate his counting stats over 550 at-bats and you get 30 homers and 98 RBI. Very good numbers indeed, but far from the performance we saw down the stretch in 2008. Still, Manny keeps himself in excellent shape, and in a contract year, he's going to be just fine. In a no-brainer move, Manny quickly exercised his $20-million player option this winter and will return as the Dodgers' starting left-fielder in 2010.

Ramirez rebounded from a down year in 2007, hitting .332/.430/.601 with 37 homers and 121 RBI. He was even better as a Dodger, batting a robust .396/.489/.743 in 53 games after coming over from the Red Sox in a three-way deadline deal. Even at 36 (37 in May), there's little doubt Manny will hit wherever he winds up in 2009.

Ramirez fell in every major and minor fantasy category in 2007 and enters the final year of his seven-year contract. There are always questions about his dedication to Boston, but there's no doubting he's still a dangerous hitter. He'll turn 35 this season and could probably squeeze another multi-year deal out of some team after this season, but we're not ruling out the Red Sox exercising a team option. He'll be Boston's starting left-fielder.

Up until 2006, Ramirez's trademark flakiness never affected his fantasy baseball statistics, but all of that changed last year. Whether you believe the club, who claim he had patella tendonitis, or Ramirez’s critics, who claim he was dogging it, he was on the way to another one of his highly productive seasons when he missed 28 games in August and September. His 130 games played in 2006 were his lowest in five years. Ramirez's 35 home runs and 105 RBI were also on the lower end of his yearly averages. Although he still finished tied for the AL lead with a .439 OBP and was second with a 1.058 OPS, his counting numbers suffered. It looks like Ramirez will spend 2007 in a Red Sox uniform, continuing to put up stellar numbers while driving Red Sox officials batty.

The Ramirez saga continues in Boston, from where the outfielder has requested a trade. His contract - three years remaining at $19 million per year - limits the number of teams that could possibly afford him. The Red Sox claim they won't give him away and are looking for reasonable value in return. Whatever happens, Ramirez remains one of the most feared hitters in the game. He'll be 34 in 2006, but his power numbers show little sign of decline. He's averaging 153 games over the last three seasons, so he's been pretty durable despite the reputation he's picked up from the Boston media. Whichever team he plays for will have to deal with the "Manny being Manny" phenomenon, but fantasy owners can sit back and rack up the stats without worry.

Ramirez is blessed with the ability to forget his mistakes and move on. He never gets down on himself for defensive foibles, questionable base running or lack of focus. The man is a professional hitter of baseballs, pure and simple, and is one of the best in the game. He may slip into a funk from time to time, but he's a consistent run producer from month to month. He'll be a constant in the Boston lineup in left field again.

Ramirez is a flake, he's bad for team morale... and one of the most feared hitters in baseball. The club placed him on irrevocable waivers in November, meaning anyone could have claimed him. There were no takers, but it sent the message that Ramirez is available. In anyone's lineup, he'll bat cleanup and produce among the elite fantasy performers.

Ramirez, 30, is one of the game's premier run producers. Despite being limited to 120 games (broken finger), Manny hit 33 HR and drove in 107 runs. There's talk that he's not happy in Boston, and while that may be true, Ramirez continues to hit. And he does that well, averaging .349 (.411 OBP, .647 slugging) last season. He'll cost big dollars, but is well worth it.