Mike Napoli deal finally official

ESPN Boston:  The Boston Red Sox on Tuesday made the signing of first baseman/catcher Mike Napoli official, confirming the one-year deal while designating right-hander Chris Carpenter for assignment to make room on the roster.

Carpenter was the player the Red Sox acquired last offseason from the Chicago Cubs as compensation for Theo Epstein leaving Boston to become the Cubs' president of baseball operations.

Napoli's contract is for one year with a base salary of $5 million, sources told ESPN last week. With incentives, he can play himself to a $13 million payday, which boosts the compensation to the annual level of the three-year deal he first agreed to with Boston early this offseason.

Napoli, 31, originally agreed to a three-year, $39 million deal with Boston on Dec. 3. That deal was taken off the table when Napoli, in the judgment of the team's medical staff, failed his physical because of a hip condition that never had surfaced publicly in his seven previous years in the big leagues, the first five with the Los Angeles Angels and the past two with the Texas Rangers.

Napoli and Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington will talk to reporters on a conference call later Tuesday afternoon to discuss the deal.

Cherington said last week that there had been no animosity between the sides as the negotiations dragged on for more than seven weeks.

"I think it's good. I think there will be a time to talk about that more, but we tried and did have a consistent dialogue throughout the winter and a lot of conversations," Cherington said.

The Red Sox view Napoli's swing as an ideal fit in Fenway Park, where he has slugged .710 with a 1.107 OPS, seven home runs and 17 RBIs in 19 games as a visiting player.

Boston is betting that Napoli will come closer to his career-best season of 2011, when he batted .320 with 30 home runs and a 1.046 OPS in his first year in Texas, than to 2012, when he dropped off to .227 with 24 home runs.

Jasper's thoughts:  "The signing is a mistake.  It took the Red Sox 12 hip exams to figure out whether or not Mike Napoli is healthy or not.  Usually it takes one.  Chances are, that if it took 12 exams, Napoli isn't healthy.  Ben Cherington and the Red Sox are going to regret this move in June when Napoli is on the DL, and the Sox have a record that is below .500."