Mike Napoli’s affection is unwavering despite an uncertain future.
Napoli’s name continues to be thrown around in trade speculation with Major League Baseball’s July 31 non-waiver trade deadline just one week away. The Boston Red Sox first baseman understands he’s a candidate to be dealt and thus is coping with the situation as best he can.
“I try not to look too far, but I know this is a business,” Napoli told WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford this week in Houston. “It’s hard for me because I love it here so much. But the way things are going now, it’s pretty rough.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen in the future. I really try not to think about that.”
Napoli entered Friday’s series opener against the Detroit Tigers at Fenway Park hitting .206 with 11 home runs, 33 RBIs and a .302 on-base percentage. It’s been a disappointing season for the 33-year-old, but he’s shown life of late, hitting .467 (7-for-15) over his last four games and raising his average by 15 points in the process. A major league source told the Boston Herald’s Jason Mastrodonato that contending teams have shown interest in trading for Napoli, though it’s unclear which teams.
“It’s out of my control,” Napoli said, according to Mastrodonato. “Whatever happens is going to happen. But I’m a Boston Red Sox right now so I’ll come here, prepare and try to win.”
Napoli is a logical trade candidate because he’s in the final year of a two-year contract, and Boston’s playoff chances are slim. A contender might decide to gamble on Napoli in the hopes he catches fire down the stretch, though the roughly $6.5 million he has remaining on his contract for this season is one potential hurdle in any trade talks.
The Red Sox could keep Napoli beyond the non-waiver deadline. An August trade remains a possibility. But it seems like Napoli’s days in Boston could be numbered, no matter how you slice it, and it’s a difficult reality for a player with so much passion for the organization.
“I think it’s the best place in the world if you have a winning ball club,” Napoli told Bradford. “I think that’s the frustrating thing — to not have a winning ball club.
“We’re a good team, but we’re just underachieving. We’ll just have to try and make the best of it.”
Napoli will be remembered throughout Boston as a consummate professional and a key contributor in the Red Sox’s 2013 World Series run regardless of how everything shakes out this season. It doesn’t make the current situation any easier to deal with, though.
Napoli is a big fan of Boston. And the admiration is mutual.
Thumbnail photo via Troy Taormina/USA TODAY Sports Images
