Finley’s Former Enemies Have Become His Friends

The irony of the situation wasn’t lost on center fielder Steve Finley, who said he has seen it all in a 15-year career.

After competing against the Dodgers with San Diego and Arizona, the four-time Gold Glove Award winner and two-time All-Star joined his former National League West rivals Saturday in a five-player trade with the Diamondbacks.

And Finley, 39, began his Dodger tenure Sunday against San Diego at Petco Park, providing another interesting twist to the story.

“The Dodgers were always the big rival when I was with the Padres,” said Finley, who went two for five with a double and scored the Dodgers’ first run in a 2-1 victory in 12 innings.

“They were a rival when I was with the Diamondbacks and even when I was with the [Houston] Astros. That’s just the way it is with the Dodgers.

“What it came down to was that I wanted to go to a team that I thought had a chance to win. This team has it.”

As a player with at least 10 years in the major leagues and five with one team, Finley had the right to block potential trades. He informed Arizona he would approve a trade only to the Padres or Dodgers.

“I had 10-5 rights, so I had a no-trade clause, but I didn’t have a must-trade clause,” Finley said. “I told them my preference was to be out here on the West Coast.

“I wanted to go to a team that I felt I had a chance to win a World Series with. It came down to the Dodgers or the Padres, and I gained a lot of ground in the standings in one day.”

And angered San Diego fans in the process. Padre officials also expressed frustration that the Diamondbacks seemed intent on sending the left-handed batter to Los Angeles, presumably because they feared Finley, who can become a free agent after the season, would re-sign with the Padres. Finley owns a house in north San Diego County.

“I haven’t talked to [San Diego General Manager Kevin Towers] yet, but I plan to,” Finley said. “I’m friends with all those guys over there. The bottom line is that it came down to either staying in Arizona or coming to L.A.”

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Manager Jim Tracy had a well-defined bullpen rotation before setup man Guillermo Mota was traded to Florida on Friday in a six-player deal.

With Mota gone, Darren Dreifort became the primary setup man for closer Eric Gagne. Dreifort failed in his first appearance in that role Saturday night as the Padres scored two runs against him in the eighth inning, rallying for a 3-2 victory.

“I’m not a panic-stricken guy who sees one scenario and says that’s not going to work,” Tracy said. “You don’t develop players that way.”

Dreifort rebounded Sunday, earning his first save of the season after Gagne worked three innings for the victory.

Although Tracy said he wouldn’t give up on Dreifort after one ineffective appearance, he acknowledged he might turn to Gagne more frequently for four- and five-out saves down the stretch.

“I would like to see Dreifort do that job for us,” Tracy said. “I know he can.”

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Hideo Nomo threw 45 pitches in a bullpen session and is scheduled to face batters Wednesday at Dodger Stadium.

Tracy said Nomo is ahead of schedule in his throwing program, but the club had not set a date for the right-hander to begin a rehabilitation assignment at triple-A Las Vegas.

The Dodgers plan for Nomo to join the 51s sometime in the next two weeks.