Very late last night the Los Angeles Angels had their catcher, Mike Napoli, claimed by an unknown team. There were several teams in the hunt for a catcher, but in the end ESPN’s Joe McDonald revealed that it was the Boston Red Sox that won the Mike Napoli sweepstakes.
The Angeles gave the Red Sox a time frame until Monday for them to workout a deal. , McDonald added that the Red Sox will probably not want to complete a deal.
The move may have most likely been made to block the Tampa Bay Rays from getting a catcher out of it. The New York Yankees, Tampa Bay Rays, and the Boston Red Sox are all in an exciting hunt for a playoff spot coming from the AL East.
The Red Sox have Jason Varitek and Victor Martinez on the team as this year’s catching squad. They may have interest in him this winter and go after a deal then.
This means that if a deal will not be made, the Angels will have to pull Mike Napoli back and try and deal him in the winter. The market will most likely be bigger for him then. It also gives him the chance to show his glove off a bit more at first base.
He’s been playing first base ever since Jeff Mathis returned from the disabled list in June. He still has been pretty consistent with over 20 home runs and a .249 batting average.
Playoff contenders would love to have him, which may be why the Rays were after him. Plus, margin level teams (trying ti get to .500) could use him to have the extra push to put them over the top and in possible contention. Napoli has a nice group of teams to choose from this winter.
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