The New York Mets and Minnesota Twins are interested in free agent first baseman Mike Napoli according to Gerry Fraley of Dallas Morning News. The Tampa Bay Rays are also interested per Marc Tompkin of the TB Times.
It was reported earlier this week that new Mets manager Mickey Callaway had reached out to Napoli to gauge his interest in playing in Queens.
The 36-year-old played for the Cleveland Indians in 2016 when Callaway was on the staff and the two have clearly maintained a strong relationship given these discussions are reportedly occurring.
The Mets have been looking this offseason for a ‘first-base/outfield type’ who can function as a backup plan to Dominic Smith at first base. The names we have heard, have ranged from the likes Carlos Santana and Eric Hosmer to Daniel Nava and Adam Lind.
Napoli is a career .246/.346/.475 hitter with 267 home runs in his 12 seasons in the majors. Last season was one of his worst though. He hit a meager .193/.285/.428, but still managed to hit 29 home runs and drive in 66 runs. He also struck out 163 times in 425 at-bats.
Napoli was worth 1 DRS in 2017 at first base and has 18 DRS at the position in 678 games.
One thing to keep in mind is that he had hand surgery earlier this offseason, which could make one wonder whether he may have been playing through that injury for the large portion of the season.
