MLB Free Agency: The All-Boom/Bust Team

General managers are ready. Agents are ready. Sportsbook futures oddsmakers are ready. We're all ready for MLB free agency to kick in. While this year's class doesn't offer the huge fish like last year's Yankee Brigade did, there are still some intriguing names out there.

Newsflash: Matt Holliday, Jason Bay and John Lackey are pretty good at baseball. These three are clearly the best free agents out there and everyone knows it. But what about the unsung heroes who could become key X-factors for a contending team? Here are a few high-risk, high-reward guys who could pay major dividends for anyone willing to roll the dice.

Note the absence of Chone Figgins from this list; he's too much boom, not enough bust to qualify as "risky." Who wouldn't want that guy?

VLADIMIR GUERRERO

Yeah, he's hippopotamus-slow in right field, he doesn't run anymore and the pop is somewhat sapped from his bat, but he could still help a Major League team if he finds the right situation. A perfect example would be Texas, a team desperate for power. Vladdy could convert to a full-time DH and play in the bandbox where he's always mashed. He bats .394 at Rangers Ballpark all time with a 1.175 OPS. Even in his "powerless" 2009 season, Vladdy hit .440 with a 1.140 OPS there. Go get him, Texas.

RICH HARDEN, ERIK BEDARD AND BEN SHEETS

I'm putting them all in one category -- and not just because two of them are Canadian. All three (a) have phenomenal natural stuff and high-strikeout rates; (b) Get injured more than Bob Sanders and Mr. Glass from Unbreakable combined; and (c) could hugely reward a team if general managers are smart about terms for the deal. Sign any these guys to an incentive-laden deal that only pays big bucks for a healthy season and you're golden.

AROLDIS CHAPMAN

We know he's still young and he throws gas. He's also wild. Is he too erratic to succeed right away at the Major League level? Someone won't wait to find out. Don't be surprised if the Cuban phenom ends up in pinstripes for the 2010 season.

ADRIAN BELTRE

He'll never hit -- over even sniff -- 48 homers in a season again, but he arguably never played in a truly productive lineup in Seattle. He'll draw interest for his sure glove and slightly-above-average pop and could excel in the right situation. Settling down in Philly to play Pedro Feliz's role could easily yield 30 cheap homers. If you like sports betting on where guys will land, I'd pick the City of Brotherly Love.

KHALIL GREENE

If he conquers his social anxiety, he could help some team. He played solid defense at short before the last season or two and is still young enough to regain that skill. He also has the type of pop that could produce 25 homers if he's in a loaded lineup and/or a good hitter's park. For example, if the White Sox put Alexei Ramirez at second and Gordon Beckham at third, couldn't Greene step into that lineup at short and hit 25 bombs? I think so.