After missing 40 games last season, Nomar Garciaparra needs to remain healthy to keep his Hall of Fame hopes alive. Erick W. Rasco/SI
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Moises Alou -- The Mets signed Alou to a one-year, $8.5 million deal, and a lot of people think that was truly a deal. It works out, though, only if Alou and his bum back stay healthy, something that was a problem in '06 (98 games). Alou, 41 in July, is no Hall of Famer, but he's a feared hitter who absolutely feasts on lefties (a .330 hitter in his career). When he can stand.

Craig Biggio -- Still one of the game's biggest gamers, Biggio, 41, is nowhere near the player he once was. He had the worst season of a 19-year career in 2006, with a miserable .306 on-base percentage. He's 70 hits away from 3,000, making his place in Cooperstown assured. The Astros could use the old Biggio in '07.

Barry Bonds -- I get the feeling Bonds' place in the Hall of Fame won't rest on how he does this season, or in however many seasons he plays after this one. But the Giants need Bonds to live up to what could be a $20 million contract by staying healthy for at least as many games (130) as he played in last season. If not, they're toast.

Nomar Garciaparra -- The Dodgers' Garciaparra still has good power and a stunning ability to put the bat on the ball. He proved in '06 that he can play first base, too. Still, Garciaparra appeared in just 122 games last season. Nomar, 33, needs to rediscover the secret to staying healthy or his Hall of Fame chances are in real jeopardy.

Luis Gonzalez -- The one-time face of the Diamondbacks has moved on to the Dodgers, where he aims to prove he's not dead yet. And there's evidence, beyond the actual breathing thing, that he might be right. Gonzo, 39, won't ever come close to the 57 home runs he had in 2001. But he cranked a career-high 52 doubles last year and did a good job cutting down his strikeouts.

Todd Helton -- After years of putting up mind-boggling numbers in mile-high Coors Field, Helton, 33, came down with a thud last season, posting career lows in batting average, slugging percentage and OPS. Maybe it was the humidor, but more probably Helton's slide was due to an intestinal bug that floored him early in the year.

Jeff Kent -- He played in only 115 games in '06, fewer than in any full season since '93, and his power numbers plummeted. Still, the 39-year-old Kent is one of the better-hitting second basemen around. A healthy year (550 plate appearances) guarantees him $9 million with the Dodgers in '08 -- and it won't hurt his Hall of Fame candidacy, either.

Scott Rolen -- An all-around force in 2004, powerful with the bat and sure-gloved at third, Rolen ran into L.A.'s Hee-Seop Choi at first base in May 2005. A mostly missed season in '05, a couple of shoulder operations later and ... here we are. Rolen, soon to be 32, began to make his way back in '06. A rebound season will return him to the game's elite.

Omar Vizquel -- Few shortstops make things look as effortless in the field as the Giants' Vizquel, who turns 40 in April. After a huge slump in the second half of the '05 season (he hit .229), Vizquel bucked up some in '06, though he still staggered in September (.225). He needs to show he can still play a full season. The Giants need it more.