We've spent the last two weeks reviewing catchers and shortstops so you'll know whom to look for in the majors next season. Now let's look at some of these situations in a team context.

Due to the uncertainty regarding the sale of several franchises, very little offseason transactions of significant roto impact have taken place. Several teams likely will make a move at either or both of these positions. Since the possibility of players switching leagues is the biggest problem in the roto off-season for keeper leagues, I'll attempt to give you an idea of which players warrant your concern. If the probability of a player playing a particular positions on Opening Day isn't greater than 50%, you'll probably want to consider either trading to upgrade that position, or more likely shopping that player while he's still in his current league. The percentages also take into account the probable risk of injury.

American League
Team	Catcher	%	Alternative	Shortstop	%	Alternative
AL East
BAL	Fordyce/Lunar	40/30	Gil/FA/Trade	Bordick/Roberts	50/25	Mora/Batista
BOS	Varitek	50	Hatteberg	Garciaparra	99	Merloni
NYY	Posada	99	Estalella/Greene	Jeter	99	E.Wilson
TB	Hall	90	Flaherty	FA (C.Gomez?)	80	F.Martinez
TOR	Fletcher/Phelps	50/20	Trade	A.Gonzalez	80	F.Lopez/C.Izturis
AL Central
CHW	Alomar	60	Paul/M.Johnson	Clayton	55	Jose Valentin
CLE	E.Diaz	90	Taubensee	Vizquel	99	Jol.Cabrera
DET	Inge/Meluskey	40/25	Fick/Cardona	D.Cruz/S.Halter	40/35	Trade
KC	Mayne	90	FA	N.Perez	55	FA/Trade
MIN	Pierzynski	99	Prince/Valentin	C.Guzman	99	Hocking
AL West
ANA	B.Molina	90	Fabregas/J.Molina	Eckstein	90	Gil/Amezaga
OAK	Ra.Hernandez	99	G.Myers	M.Tejada	99	M.Ellis
SEA	D.Wilson	90	Lampkin/FA	C.Guillen	75	R.Vazquez/Trade
TEX	I.Rod	75	Trade/Haselman	A.Rod	99	M.Young
National League
Team	Catcher	%	Alternative	Shortstop	%	Alternative
NL East
ATL	Bako/Torrealba	60	Trade/FA	R.Furcal	90	DeRosa/Betemit
FLO	C.Johnson	80	R.Castro	A.Gonzalez	80	P.Ozuna/Trade
MON	Barrett	75/15	Schneider/Trade	O.Cabrera	99	G.Blum
NYM	Piazza	99	J.Phillips	Ordonez	80	Relaford
PHI	Lieberthal	90	Estrada	Rollins	99	To.Perez
NL Central
CHC	Hundley	85	Girardi/Machado	FA (Gutierrez?)	50	Trade/A.Ojeda
CIN	J.LaRue	70	C.Miller	B.Larkin	80	Guerrero/Castro
HOU	Ausmus	90	Trade	Lugo/Vizcaino	60/21	A.Everett
MIL	Blanco	79	Casanova	J.Hernandez	65	Loretta/L.Lopez
PIT	Kendall/Osik	85/1	C.Wilson/H.Cota	J.Wilson	65	A.Nunez
STL	Matheny	89	Marrero/DiFelice	E.Renteria	90	Polanco
AL West
ARI	D.Miller	90	R.Barajas	T.Womack	70	Counsell/Cintron
COL	Petrick/Bennett	45/15	Trade/Fasano	J.Uribe	99	B.Butler
LA	LoDuca	99	Kreuter	A.Cora	35	Trade/FA
SD	Davis/Gonzalez	99	FA	D.Jimenez	90	Trade
SF	FA (Santiago?)	90	Guzman/Torrealba	R.Aurilia	99	R.E.Martinez

Hopefully this gives you some idea of where you need to start your winter shopping, or at least reassures you that your players are somewhat secure in their jobs. I'll probably run one of these charts every two weeks or so until the position players are finished, and by the time I'm discussing pitchers, hopefully most of the off-season action already will have taken place.

A few brief comments on some recent transactions:

Mike DiFelice appears to be an obnoxious bastard, and he won't be appearing on any of my roto teams in 2002. Since I suspect he'll be lucky to even earn $0 in most leagues, this situation should work out fine.

Michael Coleman has a chance to start in Boston's OF if they deal Everett and can't sign anyone else to replace him, but I don't expect him to receive more than about 200 at-bats at best. He's shown some power in the past without much plate discipline, so only bid a buck or two if you need power and can afford the BA hit.

Texas picked up a solid middle reliever in Todd Van Poppel. I don't think he has the ability to either start, set-up, or close, but if they use him in the 7th inning to get to Zimmerman and another free agent like Karsay, they should be able to hold most leads after the 6th. For roto purposes, I think Van Poppel may have peaked this season although I suspect he'll continue to ring up solid strikeout numbers. He might have occasional command problems, so most of his value is entirely dependent on the number of hits he gives up, especially hits that travel over the outfield fence. Increase his value if Texas improves their defense, and cross your fingers that he can repeat this year if they don't. Texas is about the best hitters' park left in the AL right now, so you shouldn't gamble more than a couple bucks on Ranger middle relievers since guys with similar skills to Van Poppel are available on most other teams. These other relievers would reduce your risk more than someone this historically inconsistent, so be willing to bid on Van Poppel if you can remain realistic in your expectations.

Herb Perry likely will receive about as much playing time in Texas as he did in Chicago last year. I strongly suspect he'll start for much of the year at third until Blalock's ready after the All-Star break, especially since Lamb had a decent year and might have the most trade value right now. A $1-3 bid could return $10 of value, but don't place all your hopes here as he just as easily could earn just those $1-3.

Jeff Wallace is a capable left-handed reliever against lefties only. He'll get lit if Kerrigan uses him against righties. I expect him to be decent in-season roster filler as he's probably the best lefty reliever on Boston's roster right now. He's probably not worth a dollar bid as his value derives from strikeouts and low qualitative numbers if he's lucky, but he'd be a decent guy to have around on a deep Ultra roster.

Mac Suzuki returned to Kansas City. I don't know what he was thinking as Tony Muser put a large dent in his career by his use of Suzuki, but he also has a better chance of making the team here than in most other organizations where he's relatively unknown. I also wouldn't be surprised if a team like San Francisco grabbed him in the Rule V draft, since he gives them a somewhat experienced starter if they can't sign a quality starter before December 14th. KC's lack of depth gives Suzuki at least a 50% shot of making the rotation for Opening Day, but the only place he can help at all is wins and strikeout. None of his other skills indicate positive qualitative stats. Avoid him unless you need IP or some K's.

Houston made a decent move in re-signing Jose Vizcaino although I think they overpaid by a couple hundred grand unless they plan on starting him. His value doesn't really change from last year, and his probable 2002 value only will vary a few dollars depending on his projected playing time. I might keep him at a $1 if it appeared that most of the young shortstops would stay rostered, but I doubt I'd even bid more than that in draft.

The Mets signed Japanese starter Satoru Komiyama to a one-year contract at the major league minimum, and also included a signing bonus of $300K and a team option for 2003. Komiyama's value depends entirely on the Mets' defense next season. We believe the Mets will have at least two and possibly four new starters on offense, and the quality of the Met defense will mean the difference between a value close to $10 as a 5th starter with good ERA/WHIP and -$5 while allowing two hits in every inning. His stats were nothing special in Japan as he posted a 74:30 K:BB ratio in 148 and 2/3 IP. He's also 36 and a right-hander, and this combination of style and statistics by a pitcher with a good track record in Major League Baseball would still present serious red flags.

Komiyama's numbers bear little resemblance to future Hall-of-Famer Mad Dog Matthew Broderick of Atlanta, and instead appear much more similar to Bob Tewksbury. I suspect Komiyama will have some success in 2002, with a better chance as a long reliever than a starter since batters will see him less often, but I wouldn't even gamble a dollar unless he puts up some ridiculously good spring training stats.

By ridiculously good, I'm envisioning 20 innings with 10 strikeouts, 1 walk, and 5 hits. Avoid him in auctions when he doesn't post these numbers, but on the other hand, consider him strongly in Ultra leagues and others with a taxi squad. Wild cards like Komiyama can easily succeed like Tsuyoshi Shinjo's decent season in 2001. I'd definitely consider spending a 2nd round reserve pick on him. A dozen pitchers every year earn close to double digits in value after they weren't chosen in the auction, and Komiyama might even have a higher chance of success due to his significant experience in a league comparable to good AAA ball.

Today's Fantasy Rx: Review the above table for each of your keeper teams. Are there problem areas that you should address? Start compiling a list of potential trade targets for both positions. Approach one or two owners if you think they're ready for some off-season trade talk.