Rangers trade Francisco for C Mike Napoli

[theebs]

That settles it then. I win the argument.

Probably right!!!

My point of view is just that we dont have a guy that can be relied on every day, treanor was playing well then got hurt.

but treanor and molina had a ton of huge hits throughout the season and expecting treanor to have the same offensive numbers might be a reach next year.

this way if napoli plays 70 games or something at catcher both guys and torealba however he fits in will be fresh. And of course napoli can play first and DH.

like cl just said, Napoli drives the ball and hits lefties. I have always feared him in the angels lineup.

He will now be in a lineup with young, hamilton, beltre, cruz and kinsler. He could have huge numbers as a role player.

I hope bill jones is wrong though about young or kinsler being dealt. I really cant imagine the team without Michael young.

 

[theebs]

This is a great trade. Napoli has killed LHP lately, in fact he's (surprisingly) one of the better guys in the league at it.

I think he's going to platoon with Mitch and not play that much C.

That would be ideal. He would be the emergency or sunday catcher during the long hot summer.

I really am excited for the season to start. I cant wait to see tanner scheppers, to see if holland is going to take the next step, what webb has left and nefti if he becomes a starter.

I really am looking forward to the new atmosphere out there. I love baseball. I have gone to a ton of rangers games since I got here in 03, its quite possibly the worst atmosphere of any pro sporting event ever.............and after last year I cant wait to see the change.

 

[JD_KaPow]

We aren't paying Beltre $80 million to share time at 3B with Young and Napoli. If he stays healthy he will probably play 150+ games at 3B.

I don't know, can you convince him to wear a cup?

 

[WDN]

Treanor stays because he is the personal catcher for CJ. Teagarden goes to AAA. This is a great trade for the rangers. I would suspect that Yorvit will get half the starts with napoli and treanor splitting the other half. Napoli will also get starts at 1st base as well.

 

[YosemiteSam]

Treanor stays because he is the personal catcher for CJ. Teagarden goes to AAA. This is a great trade for the rangers. I would suspect that Yorvit will get half the starts with napoli and treanor splitting the other half. Napoli will also get starts at 1st base as well.

I'm thinking Napoli has far more starts at 1st than catcher. (when we face a lefty) I think we have our catcher rotation filled for the most part. Maybe Napoli gets a start here and there just to keep him fresh at catcher in case of injury. Lets face it, Napoli isn't a great defensive catcher. We traded for him because he can hit lefties and he has some power that will protect our other hitters.

 

[Chocolate Lab]

That would be ideal. He would be the emergency or sunday catcher during the long hot summer.

On the evil 103.3 yesterday : they talked to an LA reporter who pointed out how bad he's been defensively lately... Think the staff's ERA was over a run higher when he caught. Also said he was surprisingly good at 1B given his inexperience. And then they had Napoli himself on, and he said he really liked 1B and didn't miss the strain on his knees or the pressure of calling games. So I really think this was about finding that bat to kill lefties and play 1B like we've been looking for, with C a very distant second (though always nice).

And I guess I missed the speculation about Kinsler being traded. I wouldn't do that. The guy is frustrating sometimes but he's super talented and not expensive. Surely Jones is just trying to connect some dots and thinking of a way to get Mike in the field.

Also... You know, I've said it before, but I kind of like the Rangers experience the way it is... Right now it reminds me of when the Mavs were just starting to find a clue and some buddies and I could decide to go to a game at the last minute, walk up to the gate, and buy a ticket. But for years now it's become the expensive, exclusive clubby thing to do. So while I want the Rangers to be perennial contenders, obviously, I hope they don't get like the Mavs.

But I don't think that will happen, mainly because of the summer heat which 99% of people seem to find unbearable.

 

[theebs]

On the evil 103.3 yesterday : they talked to an LA reporter who pointed out how bad he's been defensively lately... Think the staff's ERA was over a run higher when he caught. Also said he was surprisingly good at 1B given his inexperience. And then they had Napoli himself on, and he said he really liked 1B and didn't miss the strain on his knees or the pressure of calling games. So I really think this was about finding that bat to kill lefties and play 1B like we've been looking for, with C a very distant second (though always nice).

And I guess I missed the speculation about Kinsler being traded. I wouldn't do that. The guy is frustrating sometimes but he's super talented and not expensive. Surely Jones is just trying to connect some dots and thinking of a way to get Mike in the field.

Also... You know, I've said it before, but I kind of like the Rangers experience the way it is... Right now it reminds me of when the Mavs weren't good and some buddies and I could decided to go to a game at the last minute, walk up to the gate, and buy a ticket. But for years now it's become the expensive, exclusive clubby thing to do. So while I want the Rangers to be perennial contenders, obviously, I hope they don't get like the Mavs.

But I don't think that will happen, mainly because of the summer heat which 99% of people seem to find unbearable.

103.3 is evil, and terrible.

yeah the only reason he caught there last year was because of injury. He makes a good insurance for first if moreland is bad or if treanor gets hurt.

I think he is a nice player to have. He is a huge guy in person and kills the ball. Him batting in the 7 or 8 spot could be a huge luxury this year.

Bill jones was guessing after getting the sense that the rangers are still not done tweaking the roster, he was speculating young or kinsler would get moved....I dont see why that would happen.

 

[Stautner]

We already have two catchers on the team. Napoli isn't a great defensive catcher nor is he a great offensive player. He hits for power WHEN he makes contact, but thats about it. I think he hit in the 220s last year with 20 something HRs.

I understand why they got rid of Francisco, but if Napoli was the best they could do to get a right handed hitter to play first base, that was a piss poor job. I think I would prefer to stick with Moreland though it appears that is plan and Napoli was signed as an insurance policy if Moreland wasn't cutting it.

This definitely wasn't an upgrade of any sort.

I don't think Napoli was brought in to play 1st base, although he may ocassionally play 1st base against some lefthanded pitchers. Of course, Michael Young may do that as well, and Napoli might just DH in those situations. Moreland will definitely go into Spring Training as the intended starting 1st basemen and will be given every opportunity to get the bulk of the playing time.

Napoli will likely be a part of a catching rotation, ocassional DH, maybe a rare start at 1B, and a righthanded bat off the bench. He will get some extra AB's when anyone in the infield gets hurt (Young will fill in at the position and Napoli will take some of the DH duty).

I'm guessing maybe 300-350 AB's this year. Not an everyday guy in the lineup.

I don't know, can you convince him to wear a cup?

He doesn't wear a cup?

 

[JD_KaPow]

He doesn't wear a cup?

Nope, he (Beltre) doesn't. It became news back in '09 when he was hit by a grounder and missed a lot of time with a "severely bruised testicle."

 

[Stautner]

Nope, he (Beltre) doesn't. It became news back in '09 when he was hit by a grounder and missed a lot of time with a "severely bruised testicle."

Seems like I remember that now. I hope he is through having kids already. It's hard to imagine any infielder not wearing a cup, much less a 3rd baseman.

 

[theebs]

I don't think Napoli was brought in to play 1st base, although he may ocassionally play 1st base against some lefthanded pitchers. Of course, Michael Young may do that as well, and Napoli might just DH in those situations. Moreland will definitely go into Spring Training as the intended starting 1st basemen and will be given every opportunity to get the bulk of the playing time.

Napoli will likely be a part of a catching rotation, ocassional DH, maybe a rare start at 1B, and a righthanded bat off the bench. He will get some extra AB's when anyone in the infield gets hurt (Young will fill in at the position and Napoli will take some of the DH duty).

I'm guessing maybe 300-350 AB's this year. Not an everyday guy in the lineup.



He doesn't wear a cup?

actually jon daniels was on the fan today and he said he is here to play first base against lefties. Sounded like he will play alot at first and DH when he doesnt.

 

[Stautner]

actually jon daniels was on the fan today and he said he is here to play first base against lefties. Sounded like he will play alot at first and DH when he doesnt.

How does that fit with Michael Young? I thought he was the primary DH and would play some 1B?

I assumed Napoli would play some 1B against some lefties, but I wouldn't have expected it against all. They certainly will want to develop Morland as a fulltime player if they can, and of course most pitchers are right handers, so it still doesn't seem like there are going to be a lot of AB's for Napoli unless someone gets hurt or traded. Anytime Young isn't filling in for someone in the infield he will certainly be the DH.

 

[tko112204]

Moreland's OPS was .604 against LHP last year.

He has to platoon.

Or at least SHOULD platoon.

 

[tko112204]

BTW, Napoli's OPS was .966 against LHP last year.

That SCREAMS "straight platoon" to me.

As for Young, I wouldn't be surprised if the rumors of a Young or Kinsler trade are true. Young just doesn't fit anymore.

Beltre is a better 3B than him, he can't play SS anymore really, he could play 2B but Kinsler is better than him right now (and wouldn't yield 100 percent value in trade right now because of the injuries) and his bat doesn't play at 1B.

Tough spot for a good soldier.

 

[Stautner]

Moreland's OPS was .604 against LHP last year.

He has to platoon.

Or at least SHOULD platoon.

Might be a straight platoon, but at the same time, Moreland was a rookie last year, and may even be again this year based on limited AB's last year. I'm sure he will lose AB's against lefty's, but the team may well want to give him some looks against lefty's so they can groom him for the long term.

BTW, Napoli's OPS was .966 against LHP last year.

That SCREAMS "straight platoon" to me.

As for Young, I wouldn't be surprised if the rumors of a Young or Kinsler trade are true. Young just doesn't fit anymore.

Beltre is a better 3B than him, he can't play SS anymore really, he could play 2B but Kinsler is better than him right now (and wouldn't yield 100 percent value in trade right now because of the injuries) and his bat doesn't play at 1B.

Tough spot for a good soldier.

I don't know why Young couldn't play SS as a backup - his range isn't that great, but really never was even when he was an sll-start SS, but he has the glove and arm and could serve as a decent backup. As for 1B, with Hamilton, Beltre, Kinsler and Cruz there is no shortage of power on the team, so Young could easily get plenty of AB's at 1B without the team suffering. His power is a little below Napoli, but he is much more consistent and is pretty certain to have a higher BA, more doubles, and fewer strikeouts than Napoli. I like having Napoli on the team, but if the choice came down to giving AB's to Young or Napoli Young would win hands down.

 

[theebs]

another interesting twist to this is that apparently the rangers were trying to work a deal for wells.

The rangers insisted they pay a large portion of wells contract and the angels didnt so he went to the angels.

and wells told toronto he would only play in anaheim or texas.

Would have been cool if he could have come home and played here.