8. Mike Napoli

By Chad Finn, Boston.com Columnist

With 15 homers in 145 career plate appearances against Boston during the regular season, Napoli is long established as a tormentor of Red Sox pitching. While the Sox never could solve him, they did manage to sign him, though his official arrival dragged out through much drama surrounding the condition of his hips. A three-year, $39 million deal eventually was altered to one year and $5 million plus reachable incentives. Given that he still has no symptoms of the avascular necrosis that was diagnosed in his hips, there’s a decent chance he ends up providing 25-homer power in the middle of the Sox lineup.