St Louis Cardinals

The Cardinals closer, Jason Isringhausen, just reworked his contract to keep him in St. Louis, and, at $8 million per, he will be closing.

This commitment can be used wisely in keeper leagues if Izzy is entering the final year of his Roto contract. What a team does is to consider signing him to a Roto contract if his current salary is $30 or less. An additional year would pushes his 2005 salary to $35.

This is not undervalued by any non-keeper metrics, but in keeper leagues with typical inflation, Izzy could be expected to go for this much in an auction. In this scenario, he would be kept at $35 and likely pursued in the following off-season by those teams without a closer.

It is for that reason - as future trade bait- that he could be signed. No matter what Rotosites, magazines, and/or fellow teams say about Izzy at $35, he will be kept and pursued - but only if he is signed to a contract.

The extra money spent on the contract will also pay-off during in-season trading as teams acquiring him know he can be kept the following year versus him being a partial-season rental. This consideration will lead to better offered players.

And if you happen to do poorly in 2005 and want to prepare for the 2006 season, you can pair Izzy with an expiring contract to land a cheaper closer. The acquiring team will net the expiring contract while holding steady in Saves while you have a cheaper keeper the for next year's draft.

The future benefits outweigh the $5. The most difficult part will be the mental dissonance a team owner will experience as he or she constantly reads that the value of Jason Isringhausen is not $35.

It is difficult, but one must always remember that sites and forums are usually focused on 5X5 leagues and mixed leagues.