2011 Minor League Contract Team

Every year GMs will scour the free agent bargain bin in hopes of scooping up a veteran or a never-was on a minor league deal that will serve a purpose the following season. Most times these never pan out, but sometimes they do and become a major contributor to your MLB franchise. The following is team (25-man) roster composed of players that were signed to minor league contracts prior to the 2011 season.

The offense lacks speed and power for the most part, but it would likely out-hit the Mariners, Padres, Giants, Twins and Pirates.

Starting 9:
C - Eliezer Alfonzo/COL .267/.624 in 25 games

1B - Casey Kotchman/TBR .306/.800, 44 R, 24 DBL, 2 TRPL, 10 HR, 48 RBI, 2 SB

2B - Willie Harris/NYM .246/.668, 36 R, 11 DBL, 2 HR, 23 RBI, 5 SB

3B - Jack Hannahan/CLE .250/.719, 38 R, 16 DBL, 2 TRPL, 8 HR, 40 RBI, 2 SB

SS - Aaron Miles/LAD .275/.660, 49 R, 17 DBL, 3 TRPL, 3 HR, 45 RBI, 4 SB

LF - Laynce Nix/WSH .250/.750, 38 R, 15 DBL, 1 TRPL, 16 HR, 44 RBI, 2 SB

CF - Reed Johnson/CHC .309/.816, 33 R, 22 DBL, 1 TRPL, 5 HR, 28 RBI, 2 SB

RF - Scott Hairston/NYM .235/.773, 20 R, 8 DBL, 1 TRPL, 7 HR, 24 RBI, 1 SB

DH- Jason Giambi/COL .260/.958, 20 R, 6 DBL, 13 HR, 32 RBI

Bench:
C - Chris Stewart/SFG .204/.592, 20 R, 8 DBL, 3 HR, 10 RBI

3B/1B/OF - Greg Dobbs/FLA .275/.701, 38 R, 23 DBL, 8 HR, 49 RBI.

UTL - Adam Kennedy/SEA .234/.632, 36 R, 23 DBL, 1 TRPL, 7 HR, 38 RBI, 8 SB.

OF - Corey Patterson/TOR/STL .239/.632, 49 R, 20 DBL, 3 TRPL, 6 HR, 36 RBI, 13 SB

Lineup:
1. Reed Johnson
2. Aaron Miles
3. Casey Kotchman
4. Jason Giambi
5. Laynce Nix
6. Scott Hairston
7. Jack Hannahan
8. Willie Harris
9. Eliezer Alfonzo

The pitching is where the real diamonds in the rough were found. Only 1 pitcher on the staff had an ERA over 4.00 on the season, so this staff might out perform half of the teams in the Majors last year.

Rotation:
1. Ryan Vogelsong/SFG 13-7, 30 G, 28 GS, 179.2 IP, 139 K, 2.71/1.25

2. Freddy Garcia/NYY 12-8, 26 G, 25 GS, 146.2 IP, 96 K, 3.62/1.34

3. Bartolo Colon/NYY 8-10, 29 G, 26 GS, 164.1 IP, 135 K, 4.00/1.29

4. Rodrigo Lopez/CHC 6-6, 26 G, 16 GS, 97.2 IP, 54 K, 4.42/1.49

5. Kevin Millwood/COL 4-3, 9 GS, 54.1 IP, 36 K, 3.98/1.22

Bullpen:
1. Micah Owings/ARI 8-0, 33 G, 4 GS, 63 IP, 44 K, 3 HLD, 3.57/1.25

2. Mike MacDougal/LAD 3-1, 69 G, 57 IP, 41 K, 1 SV, 14 HLD, 2.05/1.46

3. Guillermo Mota/SFG 2-2, 52 G, 80.1 IP, 77 K, 1 SV, 4 HLD, 3.81/1.26

4. Juan Cruz/TBR 5-0, 56 G, 48.2 IP, 46 K, 6 HLD, 3.88/1.32

5. Tim Byrdak/NYM 2-1, 72 G, 37.2 IP, 47 K, 1 SV, 8 HLD, 3.82/1.41

6. Jamey Wright/SEA 2-3, 60 G, 68.1 IP, 48 K, 1 SV, 16 HLD, 3.16/1.33

7. Jose Veras/PIT 2-4, 79 G, 71 IP, 79 K, 1 SV, 27 HLD, 3.80/1.30

Honorable Mentions: Andrew Miller/BOS, Miguel Batista/STL/NYM, Chris Ray/SEA, Eric Chavez/NYY, Dontrelle Willis/CIN, Travis Buck/CLE, Alex Cora/WSH, Andy LaRoche/OAK, Jeff Gray/CWS, Jason Grilli/PIT, Dana Eveland/LAD, Alberto Castillo/ARI, and Josh Bard/SEA.