Napoli Hunt

[Just a bit outside]

I like Napoli and really liked the season he just had for the Red Sox. With that said, I think I am a little outside the consensus here. Because I'm putting Napoli lowest on the Red Sox's offseason priority list, as his skillset is pretty replaceable. I am cool with the qualifying offer, or even following through on his initial contract, but if it's going to take more, I'd rather allocate those resources to Ellsbury.

I disagree.  I think that Napoli appears to be replaceable but his numbers measure out well for first base and we have no immediate replacement.  Power is way down and Napoli provides a power source.  His homeruns, OBP, and war all place him in the top 3rd at first baseman this year.  I think a reasonable contract, 2 years and 28 million, with hip protection would work.

 

[Just a bit outside]

 
If Napoli's hip is a problem, he doesn't get surgery and come back stronger than ever.  He has a hip replacement and retires.
 
Can we stop using this as an example?

I think some protection about the hip giving out would be incentives for games not on disabled list because of hip giving out, not a year at minimum cost.

 

[Minneapolis Millers]

I think some protection about the hip giving out would be incentives for games not on disabled list because of hip giving out, not a year at minimum cost.

Right.  The more I think about it, the more a three year deal like this would make sense:
Year 1: $10M base, plus PT incentives to get to $14M
Year 2: $5M base, plus PT incentives to get to $14M
Year 3: $5M base, plus PT incentives to get to $14M
 
That guarantees him $20M spread out over 3 years, which is a decent hedge for the Sox as well.  If he stays healthy, he gets $42M - good money.  I'm not sure how the AAV would be treated for lux tax purposes.  If it goes just by the total base amount, it's a very good number for the team.  Alternatively, you could give him player options for years 2 and 3 at $14M each, which kick in once he reaches a certain PT level (say, 500 PAs, with no season ending DL stint).
 
I'm in line with others who want Nap back because we don't have a ready replacement for his glove at first or his power. 

 

[rembrat]

Guys, I think Mike Napoli is done with incentives. 
 
EDIT: And what I mean by that is his agent is probably going around saying "Look, Mike took a lesser deal last year to prove his health and he did. His hip has not gotten worse and gentlemen, he just won a World Series. Any offer I receive that is not guaranteed money goes straight in the trash."
 
And, you know what, I think he's earned that. 

 

[HriniakPosterChild]

Guys, I think Mike Napoli is done with incentives. 
 
EDIT: And what I mean by that is his agent is probably going around saying "Look, Mike took a lesser deal last year to prove his health and he did. His hip has not gotten worse and gentlemen, he just won a World Series. Any offer I receive that is not guaranteed money goes straight in the trash."
 
And, you know what, I think he's earned that. 

 
If I am selling a house and my Realtor gets an insulting offer from a prospective buyer, I expect him to forward it to me, not throw it in the trash.
 
If I am a baseball player, I expect no less from my agent.

 

[selahsean]

Guys, I think Mike Napoli is done with incentives. 
 
EDIT: And what I mean by that is his agent is probably going around saying "Look, Mike took a lesser deal last year to prove his health and he did. His hip has not gotten worse and gentlemen, he just won a World Series. Any offer I receive that is not guaranteed money goes straight in the trash."
 
And, you know what, I think he's earned that. 

I think he's earned himself a multi-year deal, but there's going to be strings attached for the remainder of his career.  That diagnosis didn't get changed when he won a world series and there's no way a GM can ignore it because the team wouldn't be able to insure his contract.

 

[PaulinMyrBch]

Again, the negotiating starts at 1yr/14M guaranteed regardless of the medical report, so the Sox are going to be looking for protection toward the back end, not the front.  His hip survived the year, whether it survives the next three is an issue for those closer to the records.  So a multiyear deal will likely be incentive based to some degree on game or at bat qualifiers rather than performance in the second or third years.  We're not worried about the quality of Napoli in this offer, just that the hip will be healthy enough for him to play without restrictions.
 
Any other team is probably a bit behind the 8 ball due to the fact that he's been ours all year and we've worked through the medical issue together.  So I would think we'd have an advantage.  If some team blows the deal up with crazy AAV or length of years, then he's gone.  But I think he'll be back and one of the first things we get done this offseason.

 

[HriniakPosterChild]

Again, the negotiating starts at 1yr/14M guaranteed regardless of the medical report, so the Sox are going to be looking for protection toward the back end, not the front.  His hip survived the year, whether it survives the next three is an issue for those closer to the records.  So a multiyear deal will likely be incentive based to some degree on game or at bat qualifiers rather than performance in the second or third years.  We're not worried about the quality of Napoli in this offer, just that the hip will be healthy enough for him to play without restrictions.
 
Any other team is probably a bit behind the 8 ball due to the fact that he's been ours all year and we've worked through the medical issue together.  So I would think we'd have an advantage.  If some team blows the deal up with crazy AAV or length of years, then he's gone.  But I think he'll be back and one of the first things we get done this offseason.

 
Oh, I don't think so. The QO was declined.
 
Any team is now free to offer him guaranteed 1/$14m, but I don't think that's where anything has to start.

 

[soxhop411]

 
The Red Sox, major league sources said, have had more extensive talks with Napoli and agent Brian Grieper about a new contract. Napoli hit .259 with an .842 OPS in 139 games for the Sox in his first season in Boston. He was second on the team with 23 home runs and 92 RBIs.
Napoli has said several times since the end of the World Series that he would prefer to stay with the Red Sox.
“We absolutely have an interest in having him back,” Cherington said.
The Red Sox and Napoli agreed to a one-year contract last winter after a physical showed a degenerative condition in his hips. An MRI taken after the World Series showed nothing that caused any greater concern, Cherington said.
“Mike and his agent have been fully transparent with what’s going on and we appreciate that,” Cherington said. “The most important thing, I think, is that he played a full year. We don’t have any reason to have any more concern than we did last winter.”
Cherington does not expect the Red Sox to make any roster additions this week.

http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/extras/extra_bases/2013/11/red_sox_absolutely_want_napoli_back.html?camp=miscn:twit:sox&SREF=Optin&dlvrit=199675

 

[HriniakPosterChild]

We don’t have any reason to have any more concern than we did last winter.”

 
When we offered him an incentive-based contract.

 

[JimD]

We don’t have any reason to have any more concern than we did last winter.”
 

 
Quoted for public consumption.  This doesn't necessarily mean that the Sox FO has any less concern, either.

 

[inJacobyWeTrust]

 
If I am selling a house and my Realtor gets an insulting offer from a prospective buyer, I expect him to forward it to me, not throw it in the trash.
 
If I am a baseball player, I expect no less from my agent.

 
In fact, the agent is required to present all offers to the seller. I wonder if there is a similar rule (written or unwritten) for sports agents.

 

[rembrat]

 
If I am selling a house and my Realtor gets an insulting offer from a prospective buyer, I expect him to forward it to me, not throw it in the trash.
 
If I am a baseball player, I expect no less from my agent.

 
Way to miss the point.

 

[DennyDoyle'sBoil]

I would be very surprised if any team is willing to sign Napoli to a three-year or more deal without some protection for his hip, based just on the fact that he played a year without problem.  (My assumption here is that the only piece of new evidence is that he got through a year -- obviously, if independent doctors change their view of the nature of the condition itself, that's a different story.)
 
I think the impact of this year is mostly going to play out in how teams allocate for the risk -- I think Napoli has a good argument for more of the risk to be shifted to the club than last year and for more years.  (Which the Red Sox seem to be on board with, having given him a QO.)  So, I could see a 2-year, no injury strings deal, for example.  But I would be very surprised if a team signed him for 3 or 4 years without hip protection of some sort.
 
In retrospect, the irony is that I kind of wish the 3/39 deal had stuck.  He got his $13m last year, and so what would be left on it at this point is 2/26, which I think would be a great signing now.

 

[Minneapolis Millers]

Does anyone know if, under the CBS, a contract can contain an injury-related cancellation clause?  Part of the problem with playing-time incentives is that they potentially penalize Napoli for ANY injury he incurs - hamstring, concussion, etc. - that limits his PT.  That stinks for him and would obviously be something he'd like to avoid.
 
However, could they agree to a 3 year, $39M deal that contains a provision allowing the team to void the remaining years on the deal (say, by November 1 each year) in the event of a hip injury?  That would give Napoli essentially a series of one-year deals, each year guaranteed once the year "vests" (or, rather, is not voided), and protection to the Sox for the one thing they legitimately fear - his hips imploding.

 

[Just a bit outside]

Does anyone know if, under the CBS, a contract can contain an injury-related cancellation clause?  Part of the problem with playing-time incentives is that they potentially penalize Napoli for ANY injury he incurs - hamstring, concussion, etc. - that limits his PT.  That stinks for him and would obviously be something he'd like to avoid.
 
 

That is why the contract needs to be very specific about why Nap goes on the disabled list.  JD Drew had a shoulder clause in his contract but it only came it to play for that specific injury.  Napoli's contract would need to be written based on games on the disabled list for the hip giving out, not just games played.

 

[DennyDoyle'sBoil]

That is why the contract needs to be very specific about why Nap goes on the disabled list.  JD Drew had a shoulder clause in his contract but it only came it to play for that specific injury.  Napoli's contract would need to be written based on games on the disabled list for the hip giving out, not just games played.

 
I think King Felix's contract is similar -- the club gets a John Lackey option year added to the end if he spends 130 days on the DL but only if it's elbow related.  
 
A few years back there was lots of talk about buying insurance for these kind of contracts instead of using injury clauses, and then negotiating a discount with the player based on the premium.  It's actually probably a pretty useful exercise to get a quote on something like that if for no other reason than to get some medical expertise in an insurance company's underwriting department to give you a sense of the risk.  Highly compensated employee disability policies are written all the time -- though I guess most don't play sports.  If a team were to hear that a company wouldn't write a policy for a $39m contract for a degenerative hip condition, or wanted like a $10m premium or something, I think that would at the very least be something to talk about in negotiation with the player.  
 
Edit:  Now that I remember it, one possible downside is that benefits reimbursed from insurance would not help teams trying to avoid luxury tax implications.  While they get their money back, they still have the salary on the books for luxury tax purposes, and for that reason some of the bigger clubs preferred instead to do things like the John Lackey deal and the kind of injury-protection deal that the Sox offered to Jason Bay (and which he rejected).   Interestingly, the NFL CBA now has a provision that insurance injury reimbursements for guaranteed portions of contracts count as a credit to the cap.  

 

[soxhop411]

Nick Cafardo ‏@nickcafardo4m
Contrary to previous reports, the Red Sox have NOT extended a multi-year offer to Mike Napoli according to multiple industry sources.

 

[TheYaz67]

That seems curious (Cafardo's tweet), only from the standpoint of my assumption that after Napoli's good/healthy season (and resultant WS win), that the team would at a minimum want to extend him at least a two year offer (even if it did include hip-based health / playing time incentives) to in a sense "make good" on their initial 3/$39M offer - certainly seems reasonable that others would offer him 2 or 3 years at equal money, and possibly more to try and lure him away.  Given his hip and the QO, I don't think they have to offer more than two (partly b/c I think he digs his situation and teammates & wants to stay and they know it), but I don't see them staying on an offer of a one year deal - they will come up to two as he gets other offers I think, we will just have to wait to mid-December perhaps....

 

[smastroyin]

The majority of Ben's FA moves last year came in the two weeks before Christmas.  
 
I think similarly he will feel out all of his options through the winter meetings before committing.  It was worth extending QO's because they want the draft picks and wouldn't have been unhappy with those guys returning.  Other than that, I don't see keeping the band together as a high enough priority for him to lose all of his flexibility this early in the off-season.
 
I'm sure if Napoli starts getting offers, the Red Sox will counter.  But I'm just as sure that they will wait for the market to develop a bit, for better or worse.

 

[circus catch]

The Sox offer Napoli one year at more than the qualifying:
 
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2013/11/napoli-to-explore-market-has-multiyear-offer-from-boston.html
 
As I said much earlier, two years and 30. Its sticking with last year's success of paying well in the short term, and acknowledging that there's just a lot more cash rolling around with all of this new tv money.

 

[soxhop411]

Buster Olney ‏@Buster_ESPN 12m
Some executives are convinced that Texas will emerge as Boston's greatest competition for Mike Napoli; his 1B play an eye-opener for scouts.

 

[Tyrone Biggums]

Buster Olney ‏@Buster_ESPN 12m
Some executives are convinced that Texas will emerge as Boston's greatest competition for Mike Napoli; his 1B play an eye-opener for scouts.

 
If they are viewing Napoli as a 1B wouldn't it make more sense to shift Kinsler to 1B and put Profar at 2B? Kinsler has never really played first before but it could help keep him on the field. Ultimately I think Napoli stays in Boston. 

 

[JFS7]

Olney today--espn insider
 
The Red Sox would pay Napoli well on a short-term deal. But if he departs, they would get a draft pick in compensation, as they would for Jacoby Ellsbury and Stephen Drew, adding more talent to an already deep farm system. And they have a couple of internal options at first base. 

[+] Enlarge
Ron Vesely/MLB Photos/Getty ImagesDaniel Nava could be part of the solution at first base if Mike Napoli departs.


Daniel Nava had a .385 on-base percentage and an .831 OPS in 2013, with 41 extra-base hits. Nava demonstrated he could play first, andMike Carp is seen as a good option against right-handed pitchers. In 2013, Carp had 243 plate appearances and posted an .885 OPS, with 29 extra-base hits. If Napoli departs, the Red Sox could seek a right-handed option at first base, to complement Carp or Nava. Maybe that would be Will Middlebrooks. 

Or maybe (and what follows is speculation) the Red Sox could add someone like Mark Reynolds, who has an .881 career OPS in Fenway Park , orMichael Young, or Corey Hart, who showed that he can be a really good first baseman and will be in line for a one-year deal after missing all of 2013. Hart mashed 30 homers in 2012, among 69 extra-base hits, and he had an .893 OPS against left-handers. (The other day, Hart's agency tweeted out this video of him working out.) 

 

[Morgan's Magic Snowplow]

If Napoli cant be resigned, I like Hart a lot as a backup option on a one year deal or a two year deal with the second vesting depending on health. If he stays healthy and produces, he may even be a QO candidate next offseason.

 

[DanoooME]

As mentioned before by others in various threads, the problem still becomes you can't platoon at two positions like 1B and LF with a 4 man bench like teams have today.  One of the positions has to be a full time player so that there's room for a backup catcher, backup MIF, an OF that can play CF, and the platoon mate.
 
That's what makes it tough to do two platoons.  Either Napoli comes back and plays full time or the Nava/Gomes platoon has to be broken up.  If Napoli re-signs with the Sox, I really think Carp has no spot on this team.
 
C - <starter>, Ross
1B - Napoli
2B - Pedroia
SS - Xander, UI
3B - WMB
LF - Nava, Gomes
CF - Bradley
RF - Victorino
DH - Ortiz
 
That leaves one spot for an OF that can play CF.  Carp isn't that guy.
 
Now that I think about it more, even if Napoli doesn't re-sign and Carp gets the job at 1B, then they have to commit to playing him full-time or find a bench guy that can play 1B and CF AND hit right handed.  And who could that possibly be?

 

[glennhoffmania]

As mentioned before by others in various threads, the problem still becomes you can't platoon at two positions like 1B and LF with a 4 man bench like teams have today.  One of the positions has to be a full time player so that there's room for a backup catcher, backup MIF, an OF that can play CF, and the platoon mate.
 
That's what makes it tough to do two platoons.  Either Napoli comes back and plays full time or the Nava/Gomes platoon has to be broken up.  If Napoli re-signs with the Sox, I really think Carp has no spot on this team.
 
C - <starter>, Ross
1B - Napoli
2B - Pedroia
SS - Xander, UI
3B - WMB
LF - Nava, Gomes
CF - Bradley
RF - Victorino
DH - Ortiz
 
That leaves one spot for an OF that can play CF.  Carp isn't that guy.
 
Now that I think about it more, even if Napoli doesn't re-sign and Carp gets the job at 1B, then they have to commit to playing him full-time or find a bench guy that can play 1B and CF AND hit right handed.  And who could that possibly be?

 
Why couldn't Victorino be the backup CF with Nava sliding over to RF?

 

[Minneapolis Millers]

 
Why couldn't Victorino be the backup CF with Nava sliding over to RF?

I think many of us are concerned that (a) Bradley might struggle and need days off/platoon help; and (b) Victorino isn't a model of perfect health (so, might not always be available) and is better in RF than CF anyway. But yes, he is clearly a back-up option... 

 

[StuckOnYouk]

Maybe it's just me but I'm salivating over the idea of getting 4 of the top 35-40 picks in the draft to go along with our already loaded farm system.
 
As Olney said, we also have interesting pieces in and potentially out of the organization to fill that spot. 12 months from now with Ball and Denney going on their first full years in the organization and having 4 more quality picks early in the 2014 draft, along with our kids in AA and AAA we could make a push as maintaining a top 5 farm system even with Bradley and Bogaerts getting their first full year in the bigs. 

 

[Morgan's Magic Snowplow]

As mentioned before by others in various threads, the problem still becomes you can't platoon at two positions like 1B and LF with a 4 man bench like teams have today.  One of the positions has to be a full time player so that there's room for a backup catcher, backup MIF, an OF that can play CF, and the platoon mate.
 
That's what makes it tough to do two platoons.  Either Napoli comes back and plays full time or the Nava/Gomes platoon has to be broken up.  If Napoli re-signs with the Sox, I really think Carp has no spot on this team.
 
C - <starter>, Ross
1B - Napoli
2B - Pedroia
SS - Xander, UI
3B - WMB
LF - Nava, Gomes
CF - Bradley
RF - Victorino
DH - Ortiz
 
That leaves one spot for an OF that can play CF.  Carp isn't that guy.
 
Now that I think about it more, even if Napoli doesn't re-sign and Carp gets the job at 1B, then they have to commit to playing him full-time or find a bench guy that can play 1B and CF AND hit right handed.  And who could that possibly be?

 
Just throwing shit against the wall, but I wonder whether the As would consider sending Coco back to Boston in exchange for Nava and a B level prospect.  They're paying CC $7.5M this year, which is a lot when you have a $60M payroll, and he walks next year.  They could potentially shift Cespedes back to center (where he's not great but not completely disastrous) and play Nava in LF, controlling him cheaply for many years to come.
 
CC is much better hitting from the left side so he could be a great platoon partner with Gomes as well as offering very credible CF coverage if JBJ needs a day off or simply isn't ready for prime time.
 
With the OF situation handled by Gomes/CC/JBJ/Victorino, you then can have a platoon at 1B as well as a backup C and backup MI.

 

[Reverend]

As mentioned before by others in various threads, the problem still becomes you can't platoon at two positions like 1B and LF with a 4 man bench like teams have today.  One of the positions has to be a full time player so that there's room for a backup catcher, backup MIF, an OF that can play CF, and the platoon mate.

 
Nava, Gomes, Carp, Napoli, Victorino
 
Five guys across three positions; Nava's ability to play LF, RF (after a fashion...) and 1st allows the Red Sox to play rotating platoons. Nava played in over 130 games last season, which somehow keeps getting lost in the discussion of how the platoons work.

 

[JakeRae]

 
Nava, Gomes, Carp, Napoli, Victorino
 
Five guys across three positions; Nava's ability to play LF, RF (after a fashion...) and 1st allows the Red Sox to play rotating platoons. Nava played in over 130 games last season, which somehow keeps getting lost in the discussion of how the platoons work.

 
The issue with is Nava's ability to play RF and the lack of MLB ready outfield depth in the minors. Last season, the team could afford to carry an extra 1B/LF on the MLB roster because Jackie Bradley Jr. was in the minors. They also started the season with Ciriaco in a super-utility role. Going into next year, Brentz and Kalish are both massive question marks as RF/CF depth. And, the projected Portland outfield of Ramos, KDLC, Hissey, Vitek, and Wilkerson has virtually no possibility of seeing someone get fast tracked. Some of those guys have potential but they are all really young and, even with breakout seasons, are not close to MLB ready.
 
Because of the minor league outfield situation, it would be a really bad idea to go into next season with Bradley starting, Victorino in RF, and no MLB caliber RF/CF depth. Since this is a 1B thread, I'm not going to start throwing out outfield ideas. But, I think a more important question than if Nava can play 1B is, can Gomes play 1B and would he be willing to get shifted to platoon 1B for a season instead of being a platoon LF? Because, if he can, that would create the flexibility to sign a RHH corner outfielder that is competent in either CF or RF and you could have a functional roster despite the double platoon.

 

[glennhoffmania]

Rockies may be looking at Napoli.
 

 Troy Renck of the Denver Post reports that the Rockies have interest in Mike Napoli, James Loney and Justin Morneau as a possible replacement for the retired Todd Helton.
 

 

[BeantownIdaho]

Napoli's name is going to surface with about 15 different teams given that about 15 different teams can use him. He has proved that he deserves a longer guaranteed contract not an incentive based contract. If a team goes 4 years on Nap (with considerations to no language about his hip) then I think he is gone. All things being relatively equal in the 3/40 range - he stays in Boston.

 

[The Gray Eagle]

 


Now that I think about it more, even if Napoli doesn't re-sign and Carp gets the job at 1B, then they have to commit to playing him full-time or find a bench guy that can play 1B and CF AND hit right handed.  And who could that possibly be?

 
Alex Castellanos has an option year left and will be riding the Pawtucket shuttle whenever anyone gets hurt and we need a versatile player.
 
In the minors, he's played 311 games in RF, 110 at 3B, 106 at 2B, 29 in CF, 24 in LF, 7 at 1B (and one game at SS in rookie ball 5 years ago and made 2 errors, so he won't be playing any SS for the Red Sox.) He's a RH hitter who over the past 3 seasons has put up OPS of .958, 1.010 and .815. 19 for 24 in steals last year, 288/362/502 in 2529 career minor league PAs.
 
How we got him for basically nothing? Old for his league, played in the hitter-friendly PCL, didn't look good in a tiny sample in the majors. Is he ever going to be a good part-time bat or a major league regular? Almost certainly not, but he is a perfect player to keep in AAA who can provide some help in many different ways, including allowing you to occasionally do some unconventional roster construction at the big league level. He was an excellent small, forgotten and even mocked pickup by Cherington.

 

[Devizier]

Wow, good snag by Cherington. Really thinking one, two, three steps ahead.
 
Not that I hope to see Castellanos hitting for the Red Sox at all, but it's nice to know that he's there.

 

[Minneapolis Millers]

I'm a little surprised this isn't done by now. Given his apparent love for Boston and the word they offered at least two years I'd have thought they could have wrapped it up. Know it's early but thought this one was simple. Maybe he's getting 3+ overtures from elsewhere but I would be shocked.

Hard to be shocked.  From a performance standpoint, he's certainly worth 3 (or more) years.  Few power bats, few decent corner infielders available.  He played a full season and is not actually, currently injured.  He's not old. 
 
So it all depends, as we've discussed, on how teams perceive the degree of risk of hip implosion.  You would think that every team would hedge a bit, but by how much?  That's the rub.  Teams will differ, and some teams might easily conclude that he's worth the risk of a 3-year deal, especially those that otherwise have a hard time attracting FAs.
 
Also, for Napoli, now that he's got his ring, getting the most guaranteed money is particularly important, given that his AVN would likely end his career if it deteriorates.  It's more now-or-never for him than the typical FA, so it's wise for him to seek the best deal as long as reasonably possible.

 

[Bone Chips]

I kow the market is thin at power bats, but I think people are starting to overvalue Napoli a bit. The guy has never in his career hit more than 30 HR's in a season. Not once. His OPS last season was .842 - good, but inflated a bit by the Fenway doubles effect and still below his career OPS of .859. And the strikeouts. Almost 1.5 K's per game. 187 on the season. He left a lot of runners on base batting in the middle of that lineup. 92 RBI's after he got about 30 in April. He's a good player, but let's not get carried away here.

 

[foulkehampshire]

I kow the market is thin at power bats, but I think people are starting to overvalue Napoli a bit. The guy has never in his career hit more than 30 HR's in a season. Not once. His OPS last season was .842 - good, but inflated a bit by the Fenway doubles effect and still below his career OPS of .859. And the strikeouts. Almost 1.5 K's per game. 187 on the season. He left a lot of runners on base batting in the middle of that lineup. 92 RBI's after he got about 30 in April. He's a good player, but let's not get carried away here.

 
He's never hit more than 30 HR because he's only breached 500 AB twice in his career due to being a catcher - and a platoon one at that due to Mike Sciocia. 
 
His career 16.6% HR/AB is 37th best of all time. Right below him are names like Jason Giambi, Willie Mays, Prince Fielder, etc. Yeah, he has his warts, but the guy is legitimate 30+ HR threat if he can accumulate the at-bats. 

 

[Bone Chips]

He's never hit more than 30 HR because he's only breached 500 AB twice in his career due to being a catcher - and a platoon one at that due to Mike Sciocia. 
 
His career 16.6% HR/AB is 37th best of all time. Right below him are names like Jason Giambi, Willie Mays, Prince Fielder, etc. Yeah, he has his warts, but the guy is legitimate 30+ HR threat if he can accumulate the at-bats.

But that's just it. He was healthy this past season, and he still only hit 23 HR's.

 

[foulkehampshire]

But that's just it. He was healthy this past season, and he still only hit 23 HR's.

 
23 HR's isn't something to sneeze at anymore. His .842 OPS was still 29% better than league average for a 1B.

 

[absintheofmalaise]

But that's just it. He was healthy this past season, and he still only hit 23 HR's.

Among 1B with 500+ PAs(25 players), he was 10th in HR(tied with four others), 9th in wOBA(.367), 10th in wRC+(129) and 8th in OBP(.360)*. This was playing 139 games, which was 21st out of 25 players. There are various threadsAmong 1B with 500+ PAs(25 players), he was 10th in HR(tied with four others), 9th in wOBA(.367), 10th in wRC+(129) and 8th in OBP(.360). This was playing 139 games, which was 21st out of 25 players. There are various threads around here who talk about how valuable all of those numbers are to this team.
 
* per FG

 

[Bone Chips]

Among 1B with 500+ PAs(25 players), he was 10th in HR(tied with four others), 9th in wOBA(.367), 10th in wRC+(129) and 8th in OBP(.360)*. This was playing 139 games, which was 21st out of 25 players. There are various threads around here who talk about how valuable all of those numbers are to this team.
 
* per FG

Yup, good numbers no doubt. But you can't overlook the .367 BABIP - 3rd highest of the 25. And the strikeout % of 32.4% which is 2nd highest.

I like the guy, don't get me wrong, but not at the numbers currently being thrown around. Take the draft pick and find similar 1st base production elsewhere.

 

[Savin Hillbilly]

Take the draft pick and find similar 1st base production elsewhere.

 
Can you be more specific?

 

[Minneapolis Millers]

If a team is offering 3+ yeah, I'm shocked and it's not all that hard. The condition of his hips caused the Sox to drop from 3/$39 to 1/$5+ And he couldn't beat that elsewhere. One solid season does nothing to improve the condition of his hips. Unless a team writes in protection for itself (and I don't know why he would take a 3 year deal with that clause over a guaranteed two year) they would be taking a pretty big risk.

Well, fine, then you can be shocked if this happens.  Personally, I understand how scarcity + desperation = 3 years, in Nap's case.  Maybe because teams take seemingly unnecessary risks every single offseason. 

 

[dbn]

Year, PA, OPS+
2006 325 110
2007 263 107
2008 274 148
2009 432 120
2010 510 115
2011 432 173
2012 417 113
2013 578 129
career 3231 127
 
17 qualified AL players had >127 OPS+ in 2013 (including Napoli)
17 qualified AL players had >127 OPS+ in 2012
17 qualified AL players had >127 OPS+ in 2011

14 qualified AL players had >127 OPS+ in 2010
20 qualified AL players had >127 OPS+ in 2009
 
He's a rather good bat and very good/great defensive 1B.
 

 

[Rice4HOF]

So, with Texas trading for Fielder does that remove them as competition for Napoli?

 

[soxhop411]

So, with Texas trading for Fielder does that remove them as competition for Napoli?

I would think so, unless one of them will be a DH?

 

[Green Monster]

So, with Texas trading for Fielder does that remove them as competition for Napoli?

Yeah, but now Detroit needs a first baseman.  Although they might want to go a cheaper route depending on how much cash they are stuffing in Fielders pockets on the way out of town.

 

[soxhop411]

Yeah, but now Detroit needs a first baseman.  Although they might want to go a cheaper route depending on how much cash they are stuffing in Fielders pockets on the way out of town.

UH…. they have a 1B, who moved to third for prince