Rangers Avoid Arbitration With Mike Napoli

The Rangers have avoided arbitration with Mike Napoli, agreeing to a one-year, $5.8MM contract with the catcher/first baseman, reports MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan (via Twitter).  Napoli is represented by Brian Grieper.  

The deal concludes a whirlwind eight day stretch for Napoli.  He and Juan Rivera were sent to the Blue Jays in exchange for Vernon Wells on January 21, and then four days later was flipped to the Rangers in exchange for Frank Francisco.  Napoli submitted a $6.1MM arbitration number to the Angels before the initial trade that was countered by a $5.3MM offer from the Halos, so Napoli's new deal with Texas nets him a bit more than the midpoint.  Napoli still has one year of arbitration eligibility left as a Super Two player.

The Rangers' only remaining arbitration-eligible player is the one with the most interesting case: Josh Hamilton.  You can get updates on Hamilton's case on the MLBTR ArbTracker.