Keeper Fallout: Newark Sugar Bears

The Sugar Bears had a historic year in 2007, but can they repeat (yet again that is)? The short answer is, sure they can, why not? All the pieces are still there and, if anything, the rotation is stronger than it was last year. One point to make is that key offensive component Nick Johnson will miss the entire season after eating a bad box of cereal.

Shaky Keeper: Nick Johnson. Well, he's going to miss all of the season and there's not much else to pick no here. Johnson has been very injury-prone during his career, but that hasn't stopped him from winning a Mitchell Award. Known for his extreme player loyalty, it's not surprising in the least for GM/Owner Butch Garretson to retain Johnson's services.

Surprise Castoff: Nothing all too surprising. Scot Shields has been with the team for three seasons, so there was a chance that cutting the "other Shields" may have been a tad painful for Garretson, but as he said in a statement earlier "one Shields is better than none."

Keeper Fallout: New Jersey Team Buddah

Team Buddah had one of the worst possible keeper lists heading into the offseason but traded star outfielder Ichiro Suzuki for a large package of players. Overall they improved the number of keepable players, but overall the team is still very mediocre. With no feared hitters on offense, Buddah will have to draft an offensive monster to strike fear into enemy pitchers. On the pitching side, things aren't so bad. The rotation is pretty much set and the bullpen has three solid pitchers.

Shaky Keeper: Jorge Sosa, pitcher. There are a few other guys that could have been included, but we'll go with Jorge. He slots in as the fifth starter, and he'll probably be adequate in that role.

Surprise Castoff: Troy Glaus, third baseman. Although he seems to be breaking down, Glaus still put up decent numbers this year. With no third baseman on the roster, it was rather surprising that Glaus was left off.

Keeper Fallout: Marietta Mighty Men

The Mighty Men have just about conceded that this will be a rebuilding year for them. But with all those extra draft picks, maybe they won't be as bad as that usually implies. The Mighty Men have only four pitchers protected, with one of them inelligible, so it's likely that the Mites will have to overpower their opponents with offense. The rest of the roster is mostly young, so we all know that could go either way.

Shaky Keeper: Not much to pick on here. Micah Owings is probably the biggest question mark on the roster. After a decent rookie campaign the young pitcher showed some positive signs and may yet prove to play a pivotal role in the future rotation.

Surprise Castoff: With the departure of Jorge Posada, Bengie Molina had to be smiling ear to ear, but that all changed on Keeper Day. Molina's on base percentage probably sealed his fate, but he still has decent numbers for a catcher. The Mighty Men really didn't have much room for the backstop, however.

Keeper Fallout: Las Vegas Rat Pack

The Rat Pack was the busiest team during the offseason completing two mega-deals and completely revamping their keeper list. The Pack is already a division favorite among some pundits. Their pitching staff is more or less complete (10 already on the roster!) and the lineup only lacks a shortstop and a first baseman. And that includes two "project" players, Rich Harden and Alex Gordon. The Rats may very well be done drafting after round five!

Shaky Keeper: Brett Myers, pitcher. Every player on the Rat Pack roster has either immediate impact or has some kind of longterm upside. Myers falls more into the latter category than the first, though his numbers aren't horrendous. For this year, Myers would be a horrible keeper choice, but he does have the upside of being a decent pitcher if he makes a successful return to the rotation.

Surprise Castoff: The Rats were able to successfully deal away almost every player that had any value, so there wasn't much to cast off when all was said and done. The best player left off has to be Kevin Gregg, who had pretty decent numbers while closing last year. Without the upside for the future, it is easy to understand why he was left off the final roster though.

Keeper Fallout: Hoboken Cutters

The Cutters surprised everyone by making the playoffs last year. Will they do it again? If you take a look at the Cutters roster, you start to get impressed - "wow, Hanley Ramirez, Miguel Cabrera, Hunter Pence, Scott Kazmir!" But it soon gets bad. This is a team that hangs on a great draft. With just an okay rotation, the Cutters will need to find a great starter. The lineup will have plenty of holes to fill as well.

Shaky Keeper: Mike Napoli, catcher. If you look behind the numbers, Napoli isn't too bad - .351 OBP, .443 SLG, solid numbers against lefties. But it's hard to get past that .247 average. Jarrod Washburn is a close second (maybe even a tie).

Surprise Castoff: Not that much too surprising left off the Cutters' keeper list. We'll go with longtime fan favorite Geoff Jenkins. Jenkins has been with the Cutters for four years, but GM/owner Mark Hrywna decided it was time to cut ties and give the youngsters a chance.

Keeper Fallout: Hillsborough Hired Hitmen

The Hitmen made arguably the biggest offseason trade, dealing superstar Alex Rodriguez to the Arkansas Falcons. The Hitmen, with offense to spare, solidified their rotation with the acquisition of Dan Haren, giving them one of the top rotations entering the 2008 draft. With lots of extra talent, the Hitmen were very busy in the offseason, but also have one of the better protected lists in the league.

Shaky Keeper: Tough to make this call, but we'll go with Billy Butler. Butler spent all of 2007 in Hillsborough's minor league system, but is ready to make the leap to the DMBL in 2008. Butler just barely qualifies at first base and may spend a lot of time in the DH slot. His numbers are decent so he's not all that shaky, but the rest of this roster is pretty solid.

Surprise Castoff: We're going to go with Josh Willingham. Willingham failed to impress the Hitmen after a decent 2007 season (.252/.366/.580) in limited playing time, so he was cut loose. He's still young enough (28) that several teams will be more than happy to give him a shot.

Keeper Fallout: D.C. Bushslappers

D.C. made the playoffs for the first time in franchise history last year. They hope to build on that experience this year and hopefully advance. The club protected two of the best relievers in the game in Jonathan Papelbon and Joe Nathan. The offense has a decent starting point - a good mix of power and speed. The four starters all look to be solid, though there is no true ace among them.

Shaky Keeper: Lastings Milledge. Milledge is ineligible for the 2008 season so he'll spend the year in AAA. Milledge is far from a sure thing these days, despite putting up decent MLB numbers in limited time last year. D.C. coaches intend to work with the young hitter in not only shaping his game but also his attitude.

Surprise Castoff: Frank Thomas. Is it nearing the end of the road for Thomas? Although he was only DH-eligible for 2008, Thomas had a decent .857 OPS and provides good on-base skills and power. Other than Derrek Lee and Jeff Kent, the team will need to find some more players with good on-base percentages.