Melky Cabrera is once again a free-agent. After a two-year deal with the Toronto Blue Jays concluded, Cabrera looks to be in line for a significant raise. That wasn’t the case last time Cabrera was a free-agent. It looked as though Cabrera was on his way to earning a massive deal in 2012, but a positive PED test derailed any chance of that. He signed with the Blue Jays on a cheap two-year, $16 million. During year one, it looked as if maybe the drugs were the reason behind surge. However, it was revealed late in the year that Cabrera had been playing with a benign tumor on his back. His second year went much better. Cabrera’s power returned, as did his ability to hit for average.

Though he’s heading into free agency on a much higher note this time around, there’s still some concern considering his recent history. Should Cabrera be looked at as a safe option, or are there too many warning signs?

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Free-agent outfielder Torii Hunter has aged pretty gracefully. At an age where most players find themselves out of the league, Hunter has managed to put up decent offensive numbers. While he’s clearly fallen out of his prime, he can still be a useful piece for clubs. Teams will have to debate how useful Hunter can be this offseason, as the 39-year-old is freely available. Given his offensive numbers, and reputation as a strong clubhouse guy, it seems certain Hunter will get another deal despite his age. The real question is whether he can continue to defy the odds as he approaches 40.

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I was wrong about Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Starling Marte. Last December, I wrote up Marte, and determined he “may be in for a precipitous fall next season.” Boy, was I wrong on that. Marte had the finest season of his young career, solidifying himself as one of the better young outfielders in the game. Looking over that article now, I realize that while the research seemed to fit, I let my personal biases color my evaluation of Marte. So, consider this an apology if you avoided Marte on my recommendation. Let’s try to avoid this mistake again.

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Chicago Cubs shortstop Starlin Castro entered 2014 with a lot at stake. After three straight above-average years to begin his career, Castro faltered badly in 2013. It wasn’t difficult to see why that happened. Castro’s peripherals moved in the wrong direction, and his BABIP dropped to a career-low .290. On top of that, he seemed out of sorts at the plate, posting negative pitch values against anything with decent velocity. Explaining why this happened, though, was difficult, and made Castro impossible to project going into 2014. Those questions were rendered moot after Castro posted his finest offensive season in 2014. As a reward, the Cubs might ship him to another club in 2015.

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Aramis Ramirez doesn’t age. At least, he didn’t show signs of being mortal until last season. While some numbers were down, Ramirez’s overall stat line wasn’t all that bad. He hit for a solid average, and still managed 15 home runs. In most fantasy leagues, that will play at third. For years now, analysts have predicted Ramirez’s collapse, causing his value to plummet in most leagues. And while playing next season at age-37 isn’t something to be ignored, it’s hard to argue with the track record.

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It’s been a long couple seasons for Milwaukee Brewers second baseman Rickie Weeks. The injuries and ineffectiveness finally took it’s toll in 2014, as Weeks was moved out of a full-time role for the first time since 2005. The move came at an inopportune time for Weeks, as he’s now set to be a free-agent. While Weeks is coming off a fine year, in which he had a .359 wOBA, there are plenty of questions facing the second baseman moving forward. Assuming he can find a team to give him a shot in a full-time role, does Weeks have anything left in the tank?

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Cardinals first baseman Matt Adams entered 2014 with some lofty expectations. In a part-time role in 2013, Adams displayed all the skills that pointed to him being a potentially elite option at first base. He hit for average, added plenty of power and walked at an acceptable rate. First base was a deep position, though, leading to the RotoGraphs experts ranking Adams 17th coming into the season. That proved to be perfect. Adams actually finished 17th among first baseman in the End of Season Rankings. There were plenty of reasons to be concerned about Adams entering 2014, so let’s take a look at what went wrong.

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Atlanta Braves catcher Evan Gattis was supposed to tell us a lot this season. After a power-filled 2013, fans and analysts seemed to take two different paths when discussing the 26-year-old rookie. The fans thought he was ready to breakout, while the analysts saw plenty of signs that pointed to regression. Who was right in 2014? After looking at his stats, it’s fair to say no one. Gattis put up mostly identical numbers during his sophomore season. He posted an identical walk rate, a slightly elevated strikeout rate and hit one more home run in 2014. While the overall offensive performance was better based on his batting line and wOBA, you couldn’t call it a breakout. That wasn’t necessarily the case at midseason, when Gattis was looking like an elite offensive catcher.

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Allow me to begin my 10 Bold Predictions Revisited with a bold statement. RotoGraphs bossman Eno Sarris must love embarrassing his employees*. The concept of the 10 Bold Predictions articles are great, as they allow us to talk about players we are more passionate about heading into the year, and give us an opportunity to go deeper than the standard league articles might allow.

The downside, of course, is that we have to revisit these predictions after the season. Making bold predictions is one thing, looking back on how terrible you are is another. And so, with another year behind us, let’s look at how misguided my thoughts were coming into the year.

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Pirates infielder Josh Harrison has come a long way this season. At 26 years old, Harrison has emerged as one of the club’s key contributors. He’ll be relied as such when the team enters the postseason next week. Harrison’s rise to prominence has been one of the year’s biggest surprises. While he had always hit for high averages in the minors, that didn’t seem to carry over during his brief stints in the majors. On top of that, Harrison rarely offered anything in the power department. Considering he was never a top prospect, there are plenty of reasons to doubt Harrison’s recent breakout.

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