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| (USAToday) |
According to Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com, talks between the Red Sox and free-agent first baseman Mike Napoli are at a "critical stage". Reportedly, another (unidentified) team has made a (presumably) better offer than Boston's—and Ben Cherington needs to match or exceed it to keep The Bearded One. Given the poor alternatives at first—and the loss of Jacoby Ellsbury and Jarrod Saltalamacchia—Boston really needs to keep Napoli's big bat in the lineup. They may have to overpay.