Report: Mike Napoli to sign one-year deal with Red Sox
Mike Napoli agreed to a deal with the Boston Red Sox. (Jim Rogash/Getty Images Sport)
Mike Napoli and the Boston Red Sox have agreed to a one-year deal that will pay him $34 million less than the contract he and the team agreed to earlier this offseason, according to multiple reports.
Napoli had originally agreed to join Boston on a three-year, $39 million deal. But Napoli failed his physical with the team, Red Sox doctors determined. ESPN reported that Napoli reopened negotiations with the Rangers, his team the past two seasons, before deciding to stick with his plan of joining Boston.
His deal with the Red Sox, with a base salary of $5 million, will reportedly include incentives that could bump it up to $13 million -- his average salary in the deal to which he had agreed in December.
Napoli was an All-Star last season with the Rangers. But he hit only .227 with 24 home runs in 108 games playing mostly catcher. His numbers had dropped from 2011, the best season of his career, when he hit .320 with 30 home runs.
