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On Monday, the Boston Red Sox and free agent catcher Mike Napoli agreed on a deal that will bring the former back stop for the Texas Rangers to Boston for the 2013 season.
The six-year veteran agreed to a three-year contract with the Red Sox worth $39 million and will take effect as soon as Napoli passes a team issued physical.
Last season with the Rangers, Napoli endured one of his roughest seasons, hitting just .227 with 24 home runs and 56 runs batted-in as opposed to the previous year in 2011, when the catcher/first baseman hit .320 with 30 home runs and 75 runs batted-in. The Red Sox and their fans and hoping that they will get a player closer to the 2011 version of Napoli and not the 2012 edition.
It is expected that Napoli will get more playing time at first base than he will behind the plate and, although he has played the position several times in his career, Nappli has never played more than 70 games in a single season at first. One of the main reasons the Red Sox felt the need to acquire Napoli is because of the success he has at Fenway Park. In his six-year career, Napoli has 74 plate appearances at the Red Sox home stadium in which he has gone 19-62 for .306 average with seven home runs, four doubles and has a slugging percentage of .710 along hitting one home run in every 10.4 plate appearances as opposed to 18.6 in other ballparks.
If Napoli plays up to his potential, then he could be a key piece in the middle of the Boston lineup for the next few years.
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