The Texas Rangers are turning to a familiar face for a right-handed bat.
The Boston Red Sox have agreed to trade Mike Napoli back to the Rangers on Friday for a player to be named later or cash considerations. Boston also sent money to Texas as part of the deal, which came a week after baseball's deadline for trading players without placing them on waivers.
Napoli played for the Rangers in 2011 and 2012 before leaving for Boston in free agency. Napoli, who is in the final year of a two-year deal, was hitting just .207 in 98 games with Boston with 13 home runs and 40 RBI. But over the past month he has three home runs, 10 RBI and an OPS of .847.
Texas general manager Jon Daniels said the plan is for Napoli to play first base and fill in at designated hitter against left-handed pitching.
"Nap's a guy who's always hit lefties and has continued to be productive against lefties this year," Daniels said. "Production against lefties is an area we've struggled with. To have a guy come in here, a guy that we know, a guy that's going to fit the culture, winning makeup, it's going to be a minimal transition. He's going to come in and give us a boost and some power. It just made a lot of sense."
The Rangers targeted a right-handed bat at the trade deadline but couldn't get anything together. The only power bat Texas has from the right side is Adrian Beltre. Daniels said the Rangers had talked about Napoli before the trade deadline, but had enough first base/designated hitter options.
But now the Rangers have won four out of five and are at .500, and Daniels believes adding Napoli can help the club make a playoff push.
"We've always been of the mind-set that we have a real chance to win this year and we want to try and win every game," Daniels said. "This move is about 2015 and he fills a need for us."
Napoli is a career .274 hitter against left-handed pitching with 63 home runs and an OPS of .904.
The majority of Napoli's playing time in Boston has come at first base. He hasn't caught a game since he was with the Rangers in 2012, and Daniels said the club has no plans to use him there except in an emergency.
To make room for Napoli on the 40-man roster the club moved Kyle Blanks to the 60-day disabled list.
Napoli, 33, was a fan favorite during two productive years in Texas before signing with the Red Sox and helping them win the 2013 World Series.
He batted .320 with a career-high 30 homers as the Rangers won their second consecutive American League pennant in 2011. He hit .350 with two home runs and 10 RBIs in the World Series loss to St. Louis.
The following season, Napoli had 24 homers in 108 games and was the AL's starting catcher in the All-Star Game.
With his return to Texas, Napoli is back in the playoff chase. The Rangers are 3 1/2 back of Toronto for the second AL wild-card spot and 5½ back of first-place Houston in the AL West.
Hoping to make a postseason push, the Rangers' front office has been aggressive lately. Texas acquired ace lefty Cole Hamels and reliever Jake Diekman from Philadelphia at the trade deadline, plus reliever Sam Dyson from Miami.
While the three pitchers obtained last week are under contract or Rangers control for multiple seasons after this, Napoli is not.
Napoli is expected to join the club Saturday, when the Rangers are set to face Seattle lefty Mike Montgomery. The Rangers entered Friday hitting just .238 against left-handed pitching, ranking 24th in the majors.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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