It’s not too surprising to see that the Texas Rangers have declined Mike Napoli’s team option. The organization felt the 36-year-old wasn’t worth the money, and now Napoli will become a free agent.
In 2017 Napoli hit .193 with 29 home runs and 66 RBI in 124 games. He was coming off a 34 homer and 101 RBI season with the Indians, and fell short of expectations.
The emergence of youngster Joey Gallo and hopefully having a full season of veteran Adrian Beltre made Napoli unnecessary for 2018. It was the right move by the organization to decline the team option and to not offer Napoli a qualifying offer.