On December 3rd, the Red Sox and Mike Napoli agrred on a three-year deal worth $39 million.
On January 17th, the Red Sox and Mike Napoli agreed to a one-year deal worth $5 million.
The Red Sox finally have their first baseman, and saved $34 million in the process.
It appears that the physical Napoli took a week after the original deal was done identified a hip problem he was having, and it sent up the red flags for the Sox.
Now the sides agreed to a one-year deal with a base of $5 million, but there are incentives that could bring the deal up to the original $13 million of the December agreement.
My friend Dan may have put it best this morning: "What is better than a guy pissed off out to prove he is worth more than a one-year deal." You will probably hear comparisons to the Adrian Beltre deal the Sox signed him to in 2010.
Let's hope Napoli does nearly as well as Beltre did in Boston.