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| Image: boston.com |
Rob Bradford is
reporting that the Red Sox are close to signing free agent Mike Napoli to a three year deal. Although catching most of his career, Napoli will be Boston's primary first baseman. The slugger would bring some legitimate right handed power to the lineup -- in his career he has hit a home run every 15.55 at bats, higher than Prince Fielder, David Ortiz, Mark Reynolds, and Mark Teixeira. Despite his low batting average, Napoli has good plate discipline and has always managed to reach base at a reasonable rate (career .356 OBP). He has a .306 career batting average at Fenway, with 7 home runs in only 19 games.
Napoli does come with questionable defensive skills, and has only played more than 114 games in one season (140 in 2010); however, if this deal goes through, fans should be glad that the Red Sox made a deal that helps them in the short run without hurting them in the long run.
Updated: The deal is reportedly 3 years, $39 million. Who's next? Cody Ross? Swisher? Victorino?
