As if news of Alex Rodriguez’s hip surgery isn’t leaving New York Yankees fans a little sour Monday morning, reports are that the Boston Red Sox have inked Mike Napoli to a three-year deal.
Sure, the slugger was a touch sluggish this past season with the Texas Rangers…only hitting .227 while belting 24 home runs (down from .320 and 30 in 2011), but a change of scenery will probably do him well.
In 74 career plate appearances at Fenway Park, the 31-year-old is 19-for-62 with seven homers. Not too shabby.
The big question…where is the guy going to play?
“I just want to play,” Napoli recently told ESPNDallas.com. “I feel the most comfortable behind the plate because that’s where most of my reps have been. Do I think I can be good at first base if I had reps and practiced it all the time? Yes. But it’s not like I’m saying I have to be a catcher. I just want to be in the lineup and play. If it helps at catcher, I’ll catch, or at first base, I’ll play there. But I like catching. I look at myself as catcher.”
That said, WEEI’s Rob Bradford is on record saying Napoli will the club’s “primary first base option”.
Hot stove!
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