Mike Napoli

The agent for Mike Napoli says his client fits somewhere between Victor Martinez and Yadier Molina on the spectrum of baseball’s best catchers, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports. In other words, Napoli’s asking price appears to fall in the range between Martinez’s $52MM contract and Molina’s $75MM extension.

"Depending on how he performs this year, he could be closer to Molina or Martinez," agent Brian Grieper told Heyman.

Napoli, who hit two homers in Boston last night, is on track for free agency this coming offseason. He'll earn $9.4MM this year after hitting 30 homers and posting a .320/.414/.631 line last year.

The Rangers don’t appear to have discussed an extension with Napoli recently, but Heyman suggests they offered less than $52MM over the offseason. The 30-year-old is willing to discuss an extension during the season, Grieper said.

There was some talk that Mike Napoli’s breakout performance might earn him a long-term extension with the Rangers, but the catcher says talks of a deal have been “squashed” for the time being. Napoli told Drew Davison of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that he expects to hit free agency after the 2012 campaign.

“I’d love to be here, but I’ll test the market,” Napoli said. “Every player plays to get to free agency. But it’s not something I’m going to worry about. That’s why I have my agent.”

Brian Grieper of Paragon Sports International represents Napoli, who hit 30 home runs and posted a .320/.414/.631 line in 2011. The 30-year-old will earn $9.4MM on a one-year deal this coming season.

Yadier Molina recently agreed to a five-year extension that appears to be worth $75MM. Napoli offers far more power than Molina, but less defensive value. Victor Martinez, a possible comparable for Napoli, signed a four-year, $50MM deal with the Tigers during the 2010-11 offseason. The 2012-13 free agent class for catchers also includes Miguel Montero, Russell Martin, and Chris Iannetta. It doesn't appear that Montero or Martin will sign extensions before the offseason.

The Rangers have had several discussions with catcher Mike Napoli regarding a long-term contract extension, a source tells Richard Durrett of ESPNDallas.com, although the talks are still early in the process. Napoli is arbitration eligible for the final time this offseason and is slated to earn $9.2MM in 2012 through that process, according to the model created by Matt Swartz for MLBTR.

Napoli, who turned 30 in October, enjoyed a career season with the Rangers after being traded twice following the 2010 season. The right-handed hitter posted single-season bests with 30 homers, 75 RBIs, and a .320/.414/.631 line. 

Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com first reported earlier this month that the Rangers were hopeful of working out an extension with Napoli.

The Rangers are "optimistic" about signing Mike Napoli to a long-term contract this winter, a source tells FOX Sports' Jon Paul Morosi (Twitter link).  Napoli is under control through just 2012, and he projects to earn $9.2MM in his third trip through the arbitration process, according to Matt Swartz's arbitration-calculating model.

Napoli was one of baseball's breakout stars last year, posting a .320/.414/.631 line and 30 homers in 432 plate appearances for Texas, plus a big postseason performance that likely would've included a World Series MVP trophy had the Rangers won the Fall Classic.  He played mostly catcher last season, though also saw significant time at first base and DH as the Rangers tried to find enough playing time for Napoli, Michael Young, Yorvit Torrealba and Mitch Moreland.

The book on Napoli going into 2011 was that he was a defensive liability behind the plate and that he couldn't hit right-handed pitching.  Napoli ended up being a decent defensive catcher (much to Mike Scioscia's chagrin) and posted virtually equal numbers against both righties and lefties last year, so while his bat obviously plays best at catcher, he is also a solid fit at both first and DH in case he needs to be moved in the later years of a multiyear contract.

An extension would easily net Napoli an average annual value of more than $10MM per season, so something like a four-year, $48MM contract (with maybe a club option or two) would be a great fit for the Rangers while still providing some flexibility should Napoli not be able to repeat his breakout campaign. 

From Napoli's perspective, a long-term deal would give him security and since Texas was where he was embraced and delivered his best season, it seems natural he would want to stay put.  If Napoli didn't sign an extension and had another big year in 2012, however, he would be in line for a huge contract as (by far) the best-hitting catcher on the market and one of the best free agent hitters overall.