[jthig32]

I disagree that Napoli gets more at bats as backup catcher. He might not get any less, but I don't think he gets more. He's going to lose a lot of at bats that he would have gotten as a DH and late game pinch hitter. He'll make them up while catching, but I think at best he'll break even from the trade.

As for his abilities as a catcher, I obviously haven't seen enough to know for myself. It's about reputation. There's a reason he wasn't the regular catcher for the Angels, despite their other option being one of the worst offensive players in baseball. Dave Cameron even worked back over several years of Angels performance data and saw a relatively clear pattern for better success for both the pitchers and the Angels as a whole when Mathis catching, again despite Mathis being an awful, awful offensive player and Napoli being a pretty darn good one.

I think this is a temporary situation. I don't think Napolie's the permanent backup catcher. Could be wrong, but I think the plan going into the season was the play Napoli very, very little at catcher and the roster construction got in the way of their plans.