The Red Sox have scheduled a press conference on Thursday at noon to introduce outfielder Shane Victorino, who agreed to a three-year, $39 million deal with the team last week during the winter meetings. Victorino, who turned 32 on Nov. 30, hit .255/.321/.383/.704 with 11 homers and 39 steals in 45 attempts for the Phillies and Dodgers in 2012, down from a career line of .275/.341/.430/.771. The Sox envision the switch-hitter as their primary right fielder in 2013.
The fact that Victorino's deal is scheduled for announcement one day after he came to Boston for a physical further underscores the idea that something is likely amiss regarding the last stages of Mike Napoli's contract with the Sox. Napoli was initially slated to be introduced at the end of last week, but he took ill, leading to the postponement of his physical. His physical was rescheduled for Monday with an anticipated press conference to announce his three-year, $39 million deal on Tuesday; however, no such announcement has occurred, and team officials remain mum on the topic of what is causing the delay. (For more on the Napoli situation, click here [1].)
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Links:
[1] http://fullcount.weei.com/sports/boston/baseball/red-sox/2012/12/12/what-we-know-about-the-mike-napoli-situation/
[2] http://www.weei.com/redsox
[3] http://www.weei.com/category/boston/red-sox