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Red Sox may revisit the Mike Napoli experiment next season

By Brandon Nickel

Oct 17, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Cleveland Indians first baseman Mike Napoli (26) hits a solo home run against the Toronto Blue Jays during the fourth inning in game three of the 2016 ALCS playoff baseball series at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 17, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Cleveland Indians first baseman Mike Napoli (26) hits a solo home run against the Toronto Blue Jays during the fourth inning in game three of the 2016 ALCS playoff baseball series at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports /
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With Edwin Encarnacion looking for a hefty free agent contract next season, it’s very possible that the Boston Red Sox will want to reclaim an old friend instead.

Especially one who has turned his career around, since the last time that he wore a Red Sox uniform.

Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe provided a couple of cheaper alternatives to Encarnacion: “The Red Sox would have to surrender a first-round draft pick to sign Encarnacion, who would likely want in the vicinity of what [current Boston first baseman, Hanley] Ramirez makes (five years, $125 million), perhaps more.” Instead, Cafardo suggests someone like Mike Napoli, another slugging first baseman who is up for free agency at the end of this season.

At present, Napoli is riding the wave of postseason glory with the Cleveland Indians, being three games up on the Toronto Blue Jays in the American League Championship Series. His one-year contract, worth seven million dollars, is up whether Cleveland wins the World Series or not.

However, it wasn’t so long ago that Napoli had his first visit to Boston. After becoming an All-Star for his first and only time, back in 2012, Napoli was granted free agency and signed a deal worth $13 million in 2013 and splitting the rest of the $32 million between the next two seasons.

Napoli flourished during the 2013 World Series run, earning 92 RBIs, the most he has ever posted in a regular season at that point. He was a colorful figure with the other bearded Red Sox players, who extended their season into the playoffs. Napoli hit .300 in the ALCS against the Detroit Tigers and he drove in a combined seven runs, four in the World Series, to help win the championship.

However, as the team struggled with the bats and on-base percentage in the next two seasons, so too did Napoli’s frustrations build. He was hitting a mere .207 when the Red Sox traded him back to his former team, the Texas Rangers in 2015 for very little return. The move seemed more to shift money off of the books to make way for other free agents to appear in the offseason, such as starting pitcher David Price.

After his contract was done, Napoli signed a free agent contract with Cleveland. That change of scenery helped Napoli post 34 home runs and 101 RBIs, exceeding the numbers that he posted in 2013. Along with a number of other bats that were rediscovered, Napoli’s was a breath of fresh air for the championship-starved city, if one discounts the Cavaliers’ NBA championship just months earlier.

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If the Red Sox don’t want to spend big money three years in a row, Napoli may make a great deal of sense. He’s already in touch with the pulse of the city, especially during the last World Series celebrations. And, Red Sox Nation is still recovering from so many big-name contracts for the last two seasons, such as Price, Ramirez, Pablo Sandoval, and Rick Porcello. Taking on another huge contract may not be in the team’s best interest, let alone the fans’ strained heart rates.

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