The Rangers have avoided arbitration with Mike Napoli, agreeing to a one-year, $9.4MM contract for 2012, MLBTR has learned. Agent Brian Grieper of Paragon Sports International represents Napoli.
Napoli had filed for $11.5MM, while the Rangers countered with $8.3MM, as MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker shows. Napoli, 30, earned $5.8MM in 2011 and obtains the second-highest raise any third or fourth-time eligible position player has obtained (trailing just Prince Fielder). He is the fourth catcher in baseball history to average 20 home runs per year in his first six MLB seasons, joining Roy Campanella, Johnny Bench and Mike Piazza. The Rangers have now agreed to terms with all of their arbitration eligible players.
I was expecting him to earn more. Something around 10 million or so. Good to hear there will be no hearings for the Rangers this year.
Well, $9.4M is pretty close to $10M lol
While somewhat close, people always forget (because of the enormity of contracts these days) that 600K is quite a big difference, haha.
Me too. 10M was what I was expecting, as he probably will look for a 80M/5Y or even 100M/6Y next offseason.
Napoli will not get $100 million
Hopefully Napoli will have another monster season culminating in a World Series championship this year.
Window’s closed, Tex.
Yeah, cause the 54 year-old Albert Pujols is gonna lead the otherwise punchless Anaheim offense into the promised land every year, right?
I’m an A’s fan, actually.
Dear Mr. Dierkes,
If my comment insinuating that Mike Napoli was a rabid steroid user was deleted, shouldn’t Kurisu Rg’s comment be deleted, as well? He seems to be insinuating that Albert Pujols faked his credentials to appear younger to the MLB. Both offenses are punished by MLB, so I think it is only right that you do the same.
Thank you for keeping us all safe in the face of negative commentary by anonymous sources.
Love,
Goose
Reason #57895 why I should never engage in fan comments. Oy.
Huh?
You’re so cool, wow.
I know!
That is some elite company right there…
trading Naps(for a washed up Vernon Wells) goes in the same catagory as letting Nolan Ryan go what were the Angels thinking, well what was Sciocia thinking cause he didnt like Naps. And he had a mancrush on a guy that couldnt hit his weight.The smartest thing Dipito did all off season was getting rid of Mathis.By the way I think Vernon Wells and Andrew Jones are working out together this off season….Ricky Henderson is better then both of them as we speak…..Ill take Ricky at 53 rather then Wells or Jones at 33
Agreed. I think Mike Scioscia has been great for the team, but he sure had a brain freeze on Napoli and a man crush on Mathis.
Napoli didn’t produce at half the clip he did in 2011 before he was traded. He was unfocused. He made several mental errors. He hit .182 with RISP. I don’t know if it was the trade or the protection of the Texas lineup, but it’s like a light-switch was flipped with him. That 2nd half of 2011 came out of nowhere. We’ll see if he comes back down to earth in 2012.
Napoli didn’t produce at half the clip he did in 2011 before he was traded. He was unfocused. He made several mental errors. He hit .182 with RISP. I don’t know if it was the trade or the protection of the Texas lineup, but it’s like a light-switch was flipped with him. That 2nd half of 2011 came out of nowhere. We’ll see if he comes back down to earth in 2012.
Are we sure on the largest raise? Alex Gordon? Rafeal Perez?
Gordon’s raise was 240%
I think Ben is referring to total dollars in a raise.
???
He meant an absolute raise (3.4M more), not the relative % of what he earned last year.
That doesn’t jibe, either.
Anibal Sanchez – $4.3M
Shaun Marcum – $3.775M
Cole Hamels – $5.5M
Melky Cabrera – $4.75M
Tim Lincecum – $5M
Mike Napoli – $3.6M
Before you say, “Lincecum is a second time arb player,” that’s not how it works. It’s based on eligibility.
You CLEARLY missed the words “position player”.
Sanchez – pitcher
Marcum – pitcher
Hamels – pitcher
Lincecum – pitcher, AND he specified 3rd or 4th time and explicitly NOT 2nd time, it’s EXACTLY how it works when that’s how it’s specified.
Melky Cabrera is a special case. He was a free agent last year. Not sure if he was eligible for arbitration last year after being non-tendered…
You’re absolutely right… did miss that.
For fun…. here’s all the position players 3rd or 4th (by Players “2011 MLST” “2011 Salary” “2012 Salary” “Increase”) Cabrera still beats out Napoli. Still…. nice bit of work with for him. Above average for his MLS
Players
2011
MLST
2011
Salary
2012
Salary
Increase
Michael Bourn
5.028
$4,400,000
$6,845,000
$2,445,000
Miguel Montero
5.031
$3,200,000
$5,900,000
$2,700,000
Jeff Baker
5.049
$1,180,000
$1,375,000
$195,000
Alex Gordon
4.092
$1,400,000
$4,755,000
$3,355,000
Erick Aybar
5.086
$3,000,000
$5,075,000
$2,075,000
Andre Ethier
5.153
$9,250,000
$10,950,000
$1,700,000
James Loney
5.012
$4,880,000
$6,375,000
$1,495,000
Russell Martin
5.150
$4,000,000
$7,500,000
$3,500,000
Hunter Pence
4.156
$6,900,000
$10,400,000
$3,500,000
Carlos Quentin
5.065
$5,050,000
$7,025,000
$1,975,000
Melky Cabrera
5.148
$1,250,000
$6,000,000
$4,750,000
Angel Pagan
5.144
$3,500,000
$4,650,000
$1,150,000
B.J. Upton
5.126
$4,830,000
$7,000,000
$2,170,000
Mike Napoli
5.151
$5,800,000
$9,400,000
$3,600,000
Kelly Johnson
6.127
$5,850,000
$6,375,000
$525,000
Jesus Flores
4.079
$750,000
$815,000
$65,000
Good for Mike!!!
Hopefully we can now get some multi-year deals with a few players as well.
NAPOLI NAPOLI NAPOLI NAPOLI. Last year was the year of the Napoli this year will be the year of YUUUUUUUUUUUU.
Well, that’s what YU think anyways.
Dude Yu killed it.
YU have no idea what YU are talking about.
So the Rangers go into arbitration season with 3 players heading towards hearings, thinking it would be nearly impossible to walk out without going to a single hearing, and yet manage to pull off just that.
So the Rangers go into arbitration season with 3 players heading towards hearings, thinking it would be nearly impossible to walk out without going to a single hearing, and yet manage to pull off just that.
McCann has also averaged more than 20 homeruns in his first 6 years.
I guess if you count 2005, where he only had 204 ABs, he did not. So I will self-correct.