Ron Villone - Reliever
Age: 36 Years Old.

Three-Year History and splits:

SEASON G GS CG IP H R ER HR BB SO W L SV HD BlSv ERA
2003 19 19 0 107.2 91 51 49 16 48 91 6 6 0 0 -- 4.13
2004 56 10 0 117.0 102 64 53 12 64 86 8 6 0 7 1 4.08
2005 79 0 0 64.0 57 34 29 4 35 70 5 5 1 21 8 4.08

Outlook: It seems like the Yankees had been working toward getting Villone for a while now as his name popped up in trade rumors all the time over the least couple of years. Well, they finally got their man this offseason, trading LHP Ben Julianel to the Marlins for him. It was actually a pretty odd move by the Marlins as they could have easily taken Julianel in the Rule 5 draft and traded Villone for something else of worth once his value had rebounded. Well, their loss is the Yankees gain as Villone is a decent left-handed reliever who has shut down both lefties (.227/.324/.330/.654) and righties (238/.340/.399/.738) over the last three years and can give you the occasional spot start as well. Last year was the first year since 1998 that he was a full-time reliever and he had a phenomenal first half for Seattle (2.45 ERA, 176 ERA+) before being traded to Florida (6.85 ERA, 59 ERA+). (For you statheads out there, his FIP remained consistent at about 3.5)

There are definitely areas of concern though as his control leaves quite a bit to be desired (career walks per 9 is 4.77, 4.92 for the last two years). Also, outside of a short stint in Cleveland in 1998, Villone has pitched for all NL teams except for Seattle (clearly a pitchers park). AL teams with stronger, more patient, lineups could give him problems. Still, his stuff, versatility and durabilty (knock on wood) should make him a good addition to the Yankees pen, especially after looking at the bullpens of the past few years.

Please post your predictions for the following stat line in the comments section:

G Innings W L BB KHDSVBlSv ERA