The five most overrated and underrated baseball players

Johnson is the first closer since Eric Gagne to post consecutive 50-save seasons, but he is far from an elite closer. He lost eight games and blew nine saves, with more hits than innings pitched. The Baltimore Orioles just traded him in a salary dump. Can’t see the Atlanta Braves doing that with Craig Kimbrel.   (Jim Cowsert / AP)

Montero was in the news a lot last season, but, unfortunately for the Diamondbacks, more often for what he said than for what he did. He was the highest-paid catcher in the NL West but the least productive, based on WAR.   (Paul Connors / AP)

Father Time and Mother Injury have caught up to Teixeira, who has become a shadow of the dominant player who finished 2008 with the Angels, then signed for $180 million with the Yankees. His OPS has declined for five consecutive seasons.   (Christopher Pasatieri / Getty Images)

NL MVP runner-up Paul Goldschmidt led all NL West first basemen in OPS. Who ranked second? Adrian Gonzalez? The retiring Todd Helton? Nope. It was Belt, who could turn into more of a left fielder for the Giants as Buster Posey turns into more of a first baseman.   (Christian Petersen / Getty Images)

He gets lost beneath the A-Rod circus, the Miguel Cabrera hit show, the Manny Machado phenom alerts and the New York hype over David Wright, but Beltre is baseball’s best all-around third baseman. Arte Moreno’s biggest mistake might be stopping one year short of the contract necessary to get Beltre to Anaheim, where he wanted to play.   (Orlin Wagner / AP)

Who else can call shutouts for Cy Young award winner Clayton Kershaw, throw out more runners than all-world catcher Yadier Molina, and write cogent columns of World Series analysis on a tight newspaper deadline?   (Victor Decolongon / Getty Images)

He is not the most famous pitcher on his team; that would be Stephen Strasburg. He is not even the most famous Zimmerman on his team; that would be third baseman Ryan Zimmerman, with one N. But, in a starting rotation with Strasburg and Gio Gonzalez, Jordan Zimmermann is tops.   (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

He is the epitome of the versatile player ... plug him in anywhere and watch your team go. He has started games at every position but pitcher and catcher in his past five years with the Rays, and he has had a 20-homer season as a second baseman and as a right fielder. Bonus points for “Zorilla” nickname.   (Stephen Dunn / Getty Images)