According to Jim Bowden of ESPN.com and the MLB Radio Network [1], free agent Mike Napoli is holding out for a fourth guaranteed year from the Red Sox, and has also drawn interest from the Mariners. There have also been reports regarding the Yankees interest in Napoli.
The 31-year-old would be viewed by the Red Sox as a first baseman, who would also provide depth at catcher and behind David Ortiz as a designated hitter.
The right-handed-hitting Napoli struggled for much of the 2012 season, finishing with a .227 batting average and .812 OPS while battling leg injuries. Napoli did, however, finish '12 strong, hitting seven home runs to go with a 1.051 OPS in the season's final month.
Napoli was not offered the one-year, $13 million qualifying offer by the Rangers, meaning the no draft pick would be forfeited by any team signing the slugger.
For more Red Sox news, go to the team page at weei.com/redsox [2].
Links:
[1] https://twitter.com/JimBowdenESPNxm/status/271720957520015360
[2] http://weei.com/redsox
[3] http://www.weei.com/category/boston/red-sox