2013

Huff was a primary piece in the Giants run to a championship in 2010, but the wearer of the famed "rally thong" has been a wreck since. Bochy blamed Huff's failings at the plate in 2011 on lackadaisical offseason training. Huff responded by rededicating himself to conditioning. He was rewarded with a further collapse of his bat. In addition to his struggles on the field, Huff also spent over 90 days on the disabled list for reasons ranging from battling an anxiety disorder to recovering from an ACL sprain incurred while jumping the dugout rail to celebrate Cain's perfect game. Huff's career has spanned more than a decade and it should probably come to an end with him retiring a champion.

2012

Like a later season of 24, Huff has become nothing but a series of increasingly unrealistic twists. For the third year in a row, his VORP swung by at least 40 runs, this time dropping him below replacement level in the first year of a two-year, $22 million deal. His slash line when he was ahead in the count was nearly on par with his 2010 and career numbers. But when the count was even or the pitcher was ahead, Huff hit .217/.219/.301 with four home runs; in the same counts in 2010, he hit .282/.287/.510 with 21 home runs. Bruce Bochy admitted in September that Huff hadn't worked out enough in the offseason and had fallen out of shape. "Aubrey knows as we're coming into 2012 it's going to be a little bit different," Bochy said.

2011

Huff and DeRosa were the Giants’ big additions last winter. This inspired little confidence in the team’s chances heading into 2010, but Huff followed his worst season at the plate with his best, acquitted himself well at first base and both outfield corners, and was credited with being a leader both in the clubhouse and on the field (though the less said about his "rally thong" the better). Huff did all of that for just $3 million last year and was rewarded with a two-year deal worth $20 million with a $10-million option for 2013. As for what the Giants can expect in those next two years, even with his miserable 2009, Huff has hit .280/.353/.484 over the last three seasons, which is above average even at first base. However, Huff he is creeping into his mid-30s and could be pushed by Belt into an outfield corner, where he’d be less likely to repeat his solid performance in the field from 2010. Still, the Giants have had such a hard time fielding productive hitters that it’s hard to blame them for holding onto the ones they find, and Huff’s contract is hardly a potential albatross.

2010

Huff was horrid in 2009, finishing dead last in the majors with a -14 VORP. For the Orioles, empty offense didn\'t matter; for the Tigers, trading for this \"bat\" in the middle of a pennant race was a disaster. He was hitting decently, in line with his 2005-07 performances, through early July; following a groin strain that never put him on the DL, his offense fell completely apart and his power all but disappeared. There\'s a good chance he\'ll return to being a .260-.270 EqA guy, but when you\'re limited to DH that\'s worth essentially nothing. Still, somebody might be willing to chase 2008, but not at the $8 million per Huff earned over the last couple of years.

2009

In the last 10 years, there have been ten players who were over 30, and had an EqA at least 30 points higher than in any of their previous three seasons; Huff, the only player to do it in 2008, makes eleven. Nine of those ten players saw their EqAs drop in their next season, by an average of 38 points; the tenth was Barry Bonds, 2002. So it\'s pretty clear that the odds are high that Huff\'s power surge will quietly dissipate in 2009, returning him to his 2005-2007 condition as a somewhat inadequate producer who slightly increases his value by possessing the versatility to play three corners badly.\r\n

2008

In the end, Huff's 2007 stats were right where they were expected to be, but only because he got hot down the stretch-something he's made a habit of doing, averaging a .247 EqA in the first halves of the last four seasons and .295 in the second halves. Huff reportedly promised the front office that he'd work harder in the offseason to prevent another slow start, but in an off-color radio appearance in November in which he slammed the city of Baltimore he seemed more concerned about his off-field scoring than his on-field performance. The ten-cent-head label applies, but the most problematic statistic may prove to be the $16 million he'll earn over the next two seasons.

2007

The Astros weren`t expecting Huff to be the 2006 version of Carlos Beltran, swooping in and saving their season. He was supposed to be a solid hitter who could cover for the injured Ensberg and possibly make the streaky regular third baseman redundant. Instead, Huff was what he`s been for the last few seasons--merely okay. Huff batted .312/.366/.540 from 2002 to 2003, but .276/.342/.463 over the last three seasons. Those numbers work coming from a third baseman, but Huff is a terrible fielder at the hot corner, and, as a first baseman, his bat is marginal to borderline unacceptable. Signed to a three-year deal by Baltimore, Huff could make himself very useful as a left-handed supersub for righties Millar, Mora, and Payton at first, third and left field respectively.

2006

Huff has been a prime trade target from the moment he established himself, but the Rays have already waited too long to pull the trigger. In what should have been one of his peak seasons, Huff turned in his worst performance since his rookie year. The Rays have done themselves, and Huff, a disservice by dragging him all over the field. While he`s a poor third baseman, the parade of Jared Sandberg types the team placed in his stead cost them more runs on offense than Huff would have spent on defense. He`s actually an adept first baseman, but the club could never commit to keeping him there, pushing him to DH and then the outfield so that lesser hitters could play first base. Huff is a good bet to bounce back.

2005

There's a toy statistic we have at Baseball Prospectus that combines a player's hitting, pitching and defensive statistics from different seasons into an overall career rating. According to that statistic, and only considering time spent with one franchise, Aubrey Huff is the greatest player in Tampa Bay history. If he had played for the Diamondbacks, who have been in existence just as long Tampa Bay, he would rate seventh. That's a good indication of how much more successful Arizona has been at acquiring front-line talent than Tampa Bay. Huff is a high-quality hitter with a low-quality glove, and there is just no telling what position he'll end up playing.

2004

Although it may be shocking, this organization actually has a bona-fide good hitter. Huffs an outstanding offensive playur who led all AL right fielders in Value Over Replacement Player (VORP) in '03. He puts the ball in play a huge percentage of the time, and has a very nice, compact swing that he uses to drive the ball all over the park. He was eligible for arbitration, but the Rays signed him to a three-year, $14.5 million deal, another shocking, but welcome development for Rays fans.

2003

Huff has tremendous strength and can hit the ball a country mile. He’s off to a late career start, and the Rays have decided that he can’t play third base, where he could have been Jim Thome Lite. Huff is entrenched in the middle of the Rays’ lineup, and will be hitting homers and displaying various cool peroxide stylings at the Trop for years.

2002

Huff’s defense at third base was so poor that he essentially lost his job late in the year to no-hit, good-field Jared Sandberg. We shouldn’t be all that surprised: Hal McRae displayed a strong preference for gloves over bats when he managed the Royals. The Fred McGriff deal allowed Steve Cox to move back to first base and might free up the DH role for Huff if the D-Rays can get out from under Greg Vaughn's contract. Huff will need to get back to hitting the way he did in 2000.

2001

Vinny Castilla's bad back relieved International League pitchers of having to face Aubrey Huff, who has done nothing but hit since being drafted in 1998. He's one of the few players in this organization, minors or majors, with a decent walk rate. Not everyone likes his defense, and a move to first base has been discussed. With Castilla and Fred McGriff still around, Huff will have to fight for a job again this spring.

2000

Last year, after his outstanding half-season debut with Charleston, we said to check back to see if it was for real. It was. Aggressively pushed up two levels to Double-A, Huff improved his walk rate while maintaining his 900 OPS against much tougher competition. According to Clay Davenport’s rating system, which combines hitting, fielding and age, Huff was the best player in the Southern League. His defense at the hot corner is said to be inconsistent, but you wouldn’t guess it from his numbers. His poor Arizona Fall League stint and the Castilla pickup will mean Huff will spend 2000 at Triple-A.

1999

A first team All-American from Miami, Huff was chosen in the fifth round in ‘98. He didn't waste any time adjusting to the wooden bat, hitting .321 and slugging .547 (which would have been good for third in the league). An outstanding debut, but too short to know if he can maintain it.