With Edwin Encarnacion off the table, the market for first baseman Mike Napoli seems to be developing more quickly.
According to ESPN’s Jim Bowden, the Texas Rangers are the frontrunners for Napoli’s services.
The #Rangers are now considered front runners to land Mike Napoli
— Jim Bowden (@JimBowden_ESPN) December 23, 2016
Napoli is coming off a resurgent season in which he hit 34 home runs for the Cleveland Indians en route to the American League pennant. He hit just .239, but with a .335 OBP, he still has solid on-base skills to go with that power. He has also played for Texas before, where he was very popular as part of another pennant winner in 2011. Regarded as a good teammate, it’s probably no coincidence that his former teams have all looked into bringing him back into the fold.
