Coming off a career season is one point on the “good” side and a broken wrist that required surgery must go on the “bad,” right? Not necessarily. Jose Guillen remains someone that some teams should consider. Of all the injuries one can have, a fracture might be the most predictable in all but the most severe, Jermaine Dye-type instances. Wrist fractures in particular are easily fixed with relatively minor surgery. There’s a long list of players that have come back–and quickly–from these types of injuries with little or no effect, even in-season. The question is more whether Guillen just experienced a career year or a career turnaround. They call him “Everyday Eddie”, and looking at Eddie Guardado’s career line, he looks like the rubber-armed reliever that everyone wants. After two years in the closer’s role with great results, he’s ready to head out into the world with a couple other good closers and see if he can shake loose some silver from a GM who can be distracted by that shiniest of baseball objects, the closer. Past elbow problems are past enough that they shouldn’t be a serious concern, but Guardado’s work habits have never been a selling point. Guardado’s next team will get what they get–an effective reliever who can finish games–but paying the closer price isn’t necessary.
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