Red Sox sign Mike Napoli on one-year deal

What the two parties agreed upon is significantly different than the original proposal. The Red Sox got the protection against a hip injury they wanted in the form of a one-year contract with just $5 million guaranteed. However, should Napoli not visit the disabled list for his hip, he will receive the $13M for 2013 that was first agreed upon. This might seem like it shortchanges Napoli, but the Red Sox sacrificed having him around guaranteed for 2014 and 2015 in order to see how his hip looks -- and how it reacts -- to a full season at first base. Plus, on Napoli’s end, it works much better than a contract with incentives based on plate appearances. Should Napoli have an unrelated injury -- say he breaks his hand after being hit by a pitch -- it won’t interfere with whether he gets his $13 million or not. Boston isn’t concerned if Napoli is injury prone, just that his hip could be a problem. If not, they’ll gladly pay him for a full season of services rendered.

If Napoli can survive 2013 with his hip intact, he should be able to pull in a contract similar to, if not better than, what the Red Sox walked away from. Boston could also give him the qualifying offer, which he could either accept, or the two sides could negotiate a two-year deal to bring the sides back to where they were a month ago. Should he reject the offer and move on, the Red Sox would get compensation when he signed elsewhere, or, if teams are wary of giving up a draft pick for him, it would put power back in their hands to negotiate a new deal.