Mike Napoli

It's been more than a month since the Red Sox and Mike Napoli initially reached an agreement on a three-year, $39MM contract, but that deal has yet to be finalized. The Boston Globe's Peter Abraham writes that the Red Sox are still working on getting a deal finalized, and the team is hopeful it will get done. It's been believed that a hip injury has held up the deal's completion.

Boston has since engaged in discussions with the representatives for Adam LaRoche. Abraham writes that Napoli hasn't talked with other teams in this time, though there were reports to the contrary last month. Back on Dec. 27, Mike Axisa polled MLBTR readers, and 57 percent of respondents thought that the deal would fall through and Napoli would sign elsewhere.

The 31-year-old Napoli is just one year removed from a .320/.414/.631 season in which he belted 30 homers for the Rangers. That production dropped significantly in 2012, though his .227/.343/.469 line and 24 long balls were more than respectable. Boston plans to use Napoli as its primary first baseman, though he'd previously stated his preference was to remain behind the dish.

At least one team has been in communication with Mike Napoli's representatives since negotiations with the Red Sox hit a snag, multiple baseball sources tell Rob Bradford of WEEI.com.  However, one source says it is believed that no contract offer has been extended by a team other than the Sox since the two sides reached agreement on a deal earlier this month.

The Red Sox and Napoli have yet to finalize their agreement on a three-year, $39MM deal due to concerns over the 31-year-old's hip.  Earlier today, we learned that Boston has been in talks with free agent Adam LaRoche as a possible alternative.  Signing LaRoche would cost Boston their second-round pick and the veteran says that he is looking for a three-year deal.

Here's a look at the latest on the Red Sox following their introductory conference call for shortstop Stephen Drew..

• The Red Sox continue to work on language in Mike Napoli's deal concerning his hip issue, but they haven't gotten to whether they will alter the terms of the agreement, tweets Jim Bowden of ESPN.com.  Meanwhile, the club continues to talk with free agent Adam LaRoche as a possible alternative.
• Bowden suggested five deals that would change the fortune of contending teams, including a swap for the Red Sox with the Diamondbacks.  In the proposed deal, the Red Sox would acquire Justin Upton in exchange for Xander Bogaerts, Matt Barnes, and Brandon Jacobs.  The deal would give Boston an outfield of Upton, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Shane Victorino and give them adequate reinforcements if Ellsbury goes elsewhere in free agency.
• The continued interest by the Red Sox in LaRoche puts pressure on the Nationals, writes James Wagner of the Washington Post.  The Nationals have so far refused to go to three years for LaRoche while the Red Sox are exploring multi-year possibilities with the first baseman.

Earlier today the Red Sox finalized the Joel Hanrahan trade and Stephen Drew signing, but assistant GM Brian O'Halloran told reporters (including Tim Britton of The Providence Journal) there is no update on the Mike Napoli situation (Twitter link). Here's the latest from baseball's two East divisions….

• The Phillies are in an odd place in baseball's landscape writes ESPN's Buster Olney (Insider req'd). GM Ruben Amaro Jr. really couldn't add big money free agents this winter, but his team is too good to rebuild completely. Olney wonders if they should have dumped Cliff Lee (and his salary) on the Dodgers when Los Angeles claimed the southpaw on waivers this summer.
• The Orioles still have to sort out their bench, but the team has plenty of candidates to choose from as Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com explains. Alexi Casilla, Nolan Reimold, Wilson Betemit, Danny Valencia, Trayvon Robinson, Ryan Flaherty, Yamaico Navarro, Steve Pearce, Conor Jackson, and Travis Ishikawa are all in the bench mix.
• Mark Zuckerman of Nats Insider compared Adam LaRoche to Mike Morse. The Nationals are trying to re-sign the former, though the latter could step right in at first base if no deal is reached.
• Ryan Lawrence of The Philadelphia Daily News broke down the Phillies offseason, both the moves and non-moves.

The Red Sox agreed to sign Mike Napoli to a three-year, $39MM contract more than two weeks ago, but the deal hasn’t yet been announced. As questions surrounding the agreement continue to mount, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports that Napoli has a problem with one of his hips that led to diminished interest from the Mariners.

However, if Red Sox officials thought the condition was serious, they would probably have backed out by now in Rosenthal’s view. Red Sox GM Ben Cherington has said the sides are “working through some issues.” Rosenthal suggests this means issues arose during Napoli’s physical and the Red Sox are trying to re-work his contract. The Red Sox could look to reduce the term of the deal or they could push for protective language, as they have done in the past with players such as J.D. Drew. 

A person connected to the MLBPA told Rosenthal that the union considers the team’s concern justifiable. Paragon Sports International represents Napoli.