NOV. 14: The Boston Herald's Jen Royle tweets that Napoli has not received a multiyear offer from Boston, but rather just a one-year offer at a higher salary than the $14.1MM qualifying offer he rejected on Monday. A one-year offer doesn't figure to have much of a chance at enticing Napoli. Earlier this morning it was reported that the Rockies have interest in Napoli.
NOV. 8: Mike Napoli has made it clear that he wants to remain with the Red Sox, but Yahoo's Jeff Passan reports that a return tour is no sure thing. According to Passan, Napoli has received a multiyear offer from Boston but will still shop around and see what other teams are willing to offer (Twitter link).
While Passan doesn't say it, the fact that he already has a multiyear offer and plans to explore the market should wipe out any trace of possibility that Napoli would accept the qualifying offer he received on Monday (not that it was ever likely).
Napoli, who turned 32 on Halloween, is the top free agent first baseman this winter and one of the top power bats on the market. He's mashed at least 20 homers each season since 2008 and has averaged 26 long balls per season dating back to 2010. In his first season with the Red Sox, the former Angel and Ranger batted .259/.360/.482 with 23 homers while playing strong defense at first base.
Health concerns will likely forever be attached to Napoli after last offseason's diagnosis of avascular necrosis (AVN) in each of his hips, but he silenced critics by producing solid numbers in a career-high 578 plate appearances with the Red Sox in 2013. Napoli figures to have a good shot at the original three-year, $39MM contract he agreed to with Boston last season before the AVN diagnosis dropped the guarantee to one year and $5MM (he earned an additional $8MM in incentives). MLBTR's Tim Dierkes projected a three-year, $42MM contract for Napoli in his free agent profile in late September.
