You generally don't go into an offseason saying the guy we really need is a Jerry Hairston / Alex Cora / Omar Vizquel (now) / John McDonald / Willie Harris type, but these veterans who play multiple positions, can fill in for a couple weeks when players are injured, aren't overwhelmed by pinch hitting, and will go to dinner with rookies and help them adjust are useful. W/r/t the Nats, maybe Bixler can do some of those tasks now for $1MM less than those guys will command, so you don't chase those vets as FAs, but I'd rather see those guys sit on the bench if our 4/5/6 infielders are each playing 155 games than have a guy like Lombardozzi atrophy in the majors with less than 150 ABs.
By the way, it was kind of cool to see Jon Lester say that one of the missing ingredients for the Red Sox this year was Alex Cora.
Joke about veteran leadership, but it does seem matter when things are falling apart for contenders.
Lester said he would love to see pending free agents David Ortiz and Jonathan Papelbon return next season. But he also thinks the team needs more high-character type players such as former Red Sox Alex Cora, Eric Hinske, or Sean Casey.
“We need that good veteran presence,’’ he said. “If you have somebody like that, it makes everybody better.’’