Red Sox sign Napoli, 3 years $39M

[xnick5757]

I kind of like this signing for the Red Sox.

I thought Napoli was going to sneak in a 4 year deal, and he shouldn't have been given one. And it's really interesting now that the Rangers didn't make that qualifying offer.

I wonder how many games he will actually catch. But if it's more than 30 per year, I think that really helps make this worth it.

They won't have to carry a back up catcher now on their roster too, which is nice.

What makes it interesting is that:

David Ross
Salty
and Lavernway

are still all on the roster; figure salty gets traded and lavernway stays in AAA for the time being

[xnick5757]

This just made me feel so much worse about having Ryan Howard

.219 AVG, 14 HR, and a -1.0 WAR last year for 20 million


and he still has 4 years, 95 million left on his deal

[Young2Kinsler]

I think his defense at 1st is pretty poor as well, but the guy seems like a great one to have in the clubhouse, and is a very tough out when he is on.

[bosox3431]

Id expect something like his 08-09 seasons. Maybe a tad better. Anyone expecting 2011 will be disappointed

[Jeffy25]

What makes it interesting is that:

David Ross
Salty
and Lavernway

are still all on the roster; figure salty gets traded and lavernway stays in AAA for the time being

I would think Salty should be the everyday guy.

I guess they will still carry Ross and Salty and they will view Napoli as the emergency catcher.

[Young2Kinsler]

What makes it interesting is that:

David Ross
Salty
and Lavernway

are still all on the roster; figure salty gets traded and lavernway stays in AAA for the time being

If they deal Salty, and send Lavarnway down, that means David Ross is their everyday catcher? Not good. Or Napoli catches a majority of the time? Not good again.

I think Napoli is pretty much the 1B and 3rd/emergency C. So they have to carry someone besides Ross.

[s3antana5757]

I think it's a decent deal. He's not a great 1B though. His value is so much less at 1B than it would be as a catcher. .220/19 HRs has to be in the bottom third of 1B production in MLB. It's pretty decent for a catcher though.

[Jeffy25]

I think it's a decent deal. He's not a great 1B though. His value is so much less at 1B than it would be as a catcher. .220/19 HRs has to be in the bottom third of 1B production in MLB. It's pretty decent for a catcher though.

The league average 1B hits about .262/.336/.442

Napoli, over the last three seasons has hit

.261/.355/.520

He is well above league average as an offensive first basemen.

No season in his big league career has he been as bad as the league average offensive first basemen.

[Badart Goodwall]

$23 mil a year for a first baseman who hits .250 with 24 homers seems a little much, no offense. (Mark Texiera's 2012 stats by the way)

You walked right into this one buddy, please look at your own players before you judge others. Napoli is a steal compared to Tex.

Burn, he definitely walked right in to that one. Napoli and Teixeira have had an identical WAR the last three years but Teixeira makes $10 million more a year.

[Young2Kinsler]

The league average 1B hits about .262/.336/.442

Napoli, over the last three seasons has hit

.261/.355/.520

He is well above league average as an offensive first basemen.

No season in his big league career has he been as bad as the league average offensive first basemen.

But the outlier of his career is within those last 3 years. He is right around middle of the league at best

[Badart Goodwall]

But the outlier of his career is within those last 3 years. He is right around middle of the league at best

Bollocks, it also includes two down years.

[homie564]

Salty will probably be traded unless they can put Lavarnway in a bigger trade. Lavarnway and Napoli will probably split time at 1B with 2/5 catching each and Ross with the other 1/5 or some oreientation of that

[Jeffy25]

But the outlier of his career is within those last 3 years. He is right around middle of the league at best

He has never, once, in his career had a season offensively as bad as the league average first basemen. Ever.

[SpecialFNK]

looking at the Red Sox roster, I don't see anyone who would be the starting 1B. I assume that would now be Napoli?
with the Astros in the AL and more interleague games, that means less games for Ortiz at DH. would the Sox then use Ortiz at 1B and Napoli at catcher?

[NYYCowboys]

AVG is a horrible way to judge a players worth. Not to mention, have you seen contracts that have been given out lately? They're all overpaid, what difference does it make? I think it's a good deal for BOS simply because they held it to 3 years.

I'm well aware. But he's a below average fielding first baseman, he's 32, and likely to decline over the length of the contract, and he's not very good against righties.

Kudos to getting the contract to 3 years I guess. In the end it's a decent contract. Won't go down as great, but won't haunt them down the road. But I'm allowed to have my own opinion and I'm not a huge fan of this guy. I thought with them shedding so much payroll they would have tried to get a star player ( and maybe they still will who knows?).