ESPN: Red Sox Sign Mike Napoli to One-Year Deal - East Idaho News
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ESPN: Red Sox Sign Mike Napoli to One-Year Deal

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8 12 12%20Napoli%20A?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1358526838301Ron Vesely/MLB Photos via Getty Images(NEW YORK) — The Boston Red Sox ended up with catcher Mike Napoli after all, but not the way they had hoped as he has singed a one-year deal with the team.

Napoli’s deal will pay him a base salary of $5 million and could reach $13 million with incentives.

He had originally agreed to a three-year, $39 million contract until a physical revealed a hip problem. The team’s medical concern grew with Napoli since he never disclosed the issue.

“I think it’s good. I think there will be a time to talk about that more, but we tried and did have a consistent dialogue throughout the winter and a lot of conversations,” Red Sox general manager Ben Cherrington said. “But I think there will be a chance to talk about that more hopefully soon.”

One of the better power hitting catchers in baseball, Napoli belted 24 home runs and drove in 56 runs in 2012 for the Texas Rangers.

While Napoli batted just .227 last season, he has a .389 batting average against Boston, and had a .462 batting average at Fenway Park.

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