Finley would be interesting as a ST invitee, but I don't see it, for 3 reasons:
1) Age. Man is 42 and is a very strong candidate for having taking performance enhancers earlier in his career - it's just rare for a player to go from a mediocre one in his twenties to an excellent one in his 30's - and I think he's off the stuff, so he's back to being the mediocre player he was in his 20's... but now he's 42.
2) Performance. 2007 was a disaster for Finley... but it's not like he was any good in '05 and '06.
3) I don't know that he's a good character guy. Man's been on 5 teams in 4 years and I don't remember lot's of people talking about his great leadership.
This is the stat line for Finley for the past 3 years:
.228/.292/370
This is the stat line for Alex Cora in a Sox uniform:
.247/.289/.350
I don't know that the Sox want an OF who can barely outhit their MI.
That said, I think that the bench is a serious weakness for the Sox and something they have to address. Cora was probably the BEST bench player they had last year - no one hit a lot better than him (except Ellsbury and he's going to start) and no one had close to his defensive value.
I think they'll try to keep Hinske, assuming that his .204 BA was an aberation and he'll hit closer to .250 or better, which with his power and walks makes him useful.
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