New Arrival: Gerald Laird, c, Oakland Athletics

Catcher Gerald Laird spent 13 seasons in the major leagues (2003-2015) with almost a half dozen teams. He was never really a full time starter, and only got into 120 or more games twice in his career. He retired following the 2015 season with a career line of .243/.305/.353 and a OPS+ of 74.

Why I like him: He was the Athletics 2nd round pick of the 1998 draft and was their #12 prospect in 2001. But in January 2002 he was included in massive trade between the Rangers and Athletics that saw the Athletics trade away Laird, Jason Hart, Ryan Ludwick and Mario Ramos for Carlos Pena and Mike Venafro. With the Rangers he became one of the organizations Top 10 prospects and the heir-apparent to catcher Einar Diaz, though he would never quite live up to his prospect potential. Still, 13 seasons in the big leagues isn’t nothing.