The Red Sox have agreed to a one-year, $5 million deal with catcher/first baseman Mike Napoli, according to CBSSports.com’s Jon Heyman. The deal, which contains performances bonuses, was first reported by WEEI’s Rob Bradford.
Napoli initially agreed to sign a three-year, $39 million deal in early December, but the team discovered an issue with his hip during his physical. It took the two sides more than a month to hammer out a new contract.
We wouldn’t have minded if the Yanks staged a coup, beat Boston’s one-year offer, and taken the risk on the hip. But, we’re not sure what the protocol is when a team/player makes an agreement, the agreement is canceled due to medical reasons, and a new contract is drafted.
Regardless, the Stewart/Cervelli era is still set to commence!
19 Comments
stuart phillips January 17, 2013 12:08
Yankees are a dead.
Eric Ortiz January 23, 2013 10:31
With this brilliant signing, the 2013 Boston Red Sox will go the season 162-0, with Dustin “The Hobbit” Pedroia batting .890 with 125 HRs and 467 RBIs, David “My Milkshakes Bring all the Boys to the Yard” Ortiz will tie him for the American League MVP by batting .921 with 101 HRs and 300 stolen bases. Meanwhile I will continue to jerk off to pictures of Tacoby bEllsbury nightly, using the tears shed from the Sox’s 2011 and 2012 seasons as lubricant
turk January 17, 2013 12:16
….you kidding right?….we haven’t seen any evidence that george’s sons are operating like that….fact is it’s the exact opposite….they have made it very clear in action and deed (so far) that the bottom financial line is their priority…
Ally January 17, 2013 12:42
Too bad we couldn’t afford the 5 million.
Moshe Mandel January 17, 2013 13:31
Hal is cheaper than me.
Joe Girardi January 17, 2013 17:15
Over 5 million for me to rotate him in with the others that I need rest at DH? Seems a bit steep to me.
Tradenickswisher January 17, 2013 18:20
you guys just want to put a fantasy team on the field. bad catcher 227 avg 125 k’s in under 400 at bats…just what the line up ordered another hitter the has no idea about situational hitting….whay not bring Mickey Tetleton out of retirement??? Maybe Rob Deer….you guys and your fucking statistics
Ted Nelson January 17, 2013 19:27
No, there are benefits to Mike. There are the draft picks they are both hanging onto and accumulating. There are prospects they’re hanging onto. There are overpays they’re thinking twice about. There are one year deals they’re signing that give them flexibility going forward.
There is that whole not winning less than 95 games in a season yet, too. They also won 1 ring in a decade despite outspending every team, so we’re not comparing perennial WS winner to non-winner here.
That’s not to say you can’t be against it. Saying there are no positives is wrong, though. I think you are one of the best commenters on here, but you have to be actively ignoring the benefits to miss them.
Ted Nelson January 17, 2013 19:28
Depends on the player. Neither Hughes nor Cano seems like a good candidate. The only reason for a club to extend a player is to get a nice discount for assuming performance and injury risk that would otherwise be taken by the player. Hughes may want a deal he hasn’t earned, so more information would be good to determine his value. Cano seems set on maxing out, which again defeats the purpose of an extension… bidding against yourself to satisfy his demands rather than seeing what the market will bear for a 2B in his 30s.
Mike seems to adjust assume the Yankees can make players take a discount, which isn’t necessarily the case. Gardner and DRob might laugh and then feel insulted should the Yankees offer them 3 year $12 mill extensions, which seem laughably low to me. The Yankees might have given their agents a # like that already for all we know.
Ted Nelson January 17, 2013 19:28
When the games are actually played, it’s a lot more obvious where the team stands.
Fans should not be upset about this offseason. It is ridiculous. A little worried, sure. Apprehensive, I’d say. People ignore that they are returning Gardner, Pettitte, and Mo and assume that Youkilis is cooked and ARod will not return and Jeter’s ankle is done. The same people who wouldn’t stop complaining about Martin all year, now won’t stop complaining that he’s gone. People act like they’ve never had any holes in the last 20 years when they’ve survived plenty. The Blue Jays overpay for a bunch of guys in terms of $ or talent, and suddenly everyone is sure they will jump 20+ wins. (People would hate it if the Yankees brought on Beurhle and then Reyes and JJ at market rates and gave up assets to do it, they’d hate it if they gave two top 5 prospects for Dickey.) The Rays trade their #2 SP and lose 2 of their best position players from 2012. The Os do nothing. People hate the Sox off-season. Yet, they still freak out that the Yankees didn’t up their payroll to $250+ million or something. It’s just shiny new toy syndrome. It’s not about winning one off-season, but fielding the best team.
Is this team a favorite to win the WS? No. Is it a contender on paper? By any reasonable standard, yes. Fans should stop whining and either wait for the season or go front run for the Dodgers if all they care about is buying shiny toys.
TomH January 17, 2013 19:29
“People ignore that they are returning Gardner, Pettitte, and Mo and assume that Youkilis is cooked and ARod will not return and Jeter’s ankle is done.”
Utter nonsense. The argument is that Pettitte, Rivera, Youkilis, and Jeter are dangerously old and, in the case of 2 of them, also returning from serious injuries: and that it is these undeniable facts that are being ignored by Pollyanna’s like you. It is those facts, coupled with the injury to Alex and the departure of Swisher’s, Martin’s, and Ibanez’s HR’s that are at issue. Don’t simplify your opponents’ arguments, although, having said that, I realize that when it is to someone’s advantage to misunderstand people it is useless for those people to try to make themselves understood.
Ted Nelson January 17, 2013 19:29
No. That they are older is undeniable. That this will mean the Yankees don’t contend is far from an undeniable fact.
Replacing HRs? LOLOLOLOL I don’t need to simplify your arguments. You do it so well. I just need to let you speak, I don’t even need to present an argument. Replacing HRs… You are too much.
Not sure TomH has ever made one comment that is either a. relevant or b. positive.
Ted Nelson January 17, 2013 19:30
I think this is the most important thing you’re ignoring, so I’ll say it first: trades. Promoting prospects and signing FAs are not the only ways to fill out a roster. They can move prospects for cost controlled players on well below market deals.
As much as went wrong in 2012, the same amount could go right in 2013. Or it could go wrong. Or more likely it will be a mix. Why not wait to see?
I think you are overstating the weakness at the top of the farm. Austin, Slade, Turley, Flores, Segedin, and Montgomery are in AA. Romine, Adams, CoJo, Marshall, Warren, Whitely, and hopefully at least one serviceable bench OF are in AAA. Sanchez, Mason, Goody, Black and some other lower down guys are capable of quick rises. Manny is having TJS, not a labodomy. Betances might need a labadomy, but he also might be an effective RP despite the volatility.
And while they’re not going to totally spend their way out of it, they are in a position to spend a TON next offseason.
Ted Nelson January 17, 2013 19:30
Come on. You lay out exactly what is going on in your comment. They will still be good in 2013. No need to ct prematurely at this point. They can keep evaluating things on an ongoing basis.
You have also chosen to ignore everything that went right:
-3 prospects emerged from the low minors to the mid minors as top 50 prospects… One of which is actually their top C prospect, not Romine
-Slade got at least temporarily healthy, mashed AzFL, and is being talked about as a top 50-100 talent
-Phelps had a solid rookie year
-Nova took a major step forward on Ks as well as the step backwards on hittability… Heck even his emergence as a rookie probably falls under the what’s happened since they announced it filter
-Jeter bounced back from what looked like the edge of the cliff
-They found out that ARod had no mobility in his hip, which might be fixed
-Just about all the things you mentioned are things the player may recover from or bounce back from
-Ichiro played very well for them, and of there was a mechanical or mental change they helped him make they may believe it is likely to carry over to at least some extent
Ted Nelson January 17, 2013 19:31
Yeah, like I said… I disagree. I understand your point. You don’t have to keep explaining it. I just think it’s illogical hogwash.
What did you want to see them do? Sign Swisher? A huge portion of their prospect talent is in OF they are on record saying could be in MLB this season. Cash said Austin is a special talent who could move very quickly. Newman said they expect Slade in MLB in 2013 or something. They could have signed Martin and stayed under $189 pretty easily, so I have to assume part of it was just not seeing the value. Maybe being worried about his back.
Otherwise, what did you want them to do?
They are in a position now to contend in 2013 and evaluate the budget as they go. If they went out and spent like wild this off-season, they would have no choice in the matter.
Ted Nelson January 17, 2013 19:31
It’s optimistic, but not at all unrealistic that your top OF prospects will make it from AA to MLB in a year at 22 and 23. We’re really talking about 2014 here. I was just offering evidence from people within the organization that they have some options in the OF. Really the point I was making was that things have changed in a positive way regarding the 2014 OF picture, not a negative way.
Making it to MLB to contribute also doesn’t mean reaching your ceiling. A young guy can be ready to hold his own against MLB Ps, but not a total stud. Spreading your risk across 5 or 6 guys you’re looking at as potential contributes also significantly increases your odds of actually getting a contributor or two.
And if none works out, OF are generally relatively easy to find compared to IF or SPs.
Ted Nelson January 17, 2013 19:32
So, no answer to what you’d have liked to see them do? Just “spend mo money damnit!”
My point is that the 2014 OF picture has not been impacted in a particulalry negative way since the plan was announced, and in fact it’s very easy to argue that there are tons of positive developments. Ichiro, Austin, Slade, Mason, Flores, Mesa… Point is that OF is not where the unfavorable developments you’re talking about have hit them.
Mostly P is where the tangible ones have hit. And their staff is boss going into 2013.
So…….. again……… What should they have done to blow past the $189 budget for 2014?
Ted Nelson January 17, 2013 19:33
I meant what did he want to see them do this offseason to blow by the $189 budget.
They have the 11th best farm according to BA. Every team could be in a better situation prospect wise. A lot of what you’re talking about is as likely to boil down to dumb luck as anything, with injuries setting back Manny, Romine, Adams, Slade, Bleich… a lot of what, in theory, was hoped to be the MLB ready talent (give or take) right now.
I believe Hughes just agreed to a 2013 deal.
I think that might be his market value as a free agent. Personally, I think that the Yankees can find better value for that money. It might be what Hughes gets, but I’d let him walk.
Sucking fupid January 20, 2013 23:31
What the fuck happened to these comments?