The Florida Marlins signed Jorge Cantu to a minor league deal last January after he was released by the Reds. Little did they know they were signing their starting 3bman, and the 2005 Cantu would return in Florida.
Jorge Cantu, previously with the Red and Rays, ended the 2008 season with a .277-29-92-95 line, pretty solid numbers for a guy who was released twice in 2007. Cantu has had only one really good year of hitting, going .286-28-73-117 with the Rays back in 2005. But, he could not duplicate those numbers until this year. He was given the chance to play 3b after the Marlins handed the Tigers Miguel Cabrera in an off-season deal.
He ranked 3rd amongst NL 3bman in HRs. 3rd in runs scored, and 7th in RBis. Only David Wright and Ryan Braun hit more HRs than Cantu.
I am sure he wasn't drafted very high in snake drafts, and he went for $2 in one of my auction league drafts, and was retained at $10 in the UBA auction league. Both owners were pretty pleased with his performance this year.
But, the question remains, can Cantu duplicate his 2008 season, or will he revert back to his 2006 form and see his performance suffer?