Three things are very exciting about Napoli:
1. That a bat of his caliber which is, of course, the powerful .45-70 Govt. with a .400+ grain slug, would consider signing here at all. Didn't Prince Fielder just laugh when Seattle said that it wanted to sign him? Seattle has not had a serious FA hitter consider it since Sexson and Beltre only had mediocre seasons during their respective terms.
2. That Napoli does well at the DH spot, which seems to ice other promising hitters. The M's have not had a real DH since the DH of DH's retired. The M's could probably get a lot of mileage out of a guy like Napoli with tender use, as long as he didn't insist on all of that catching nonsense and as long as he had plenty of time to warm up between starts. Napoli should talk to Big Papi and ask him the secret to his longevity. DH is where big sluggers should go to finish out their long and productive careers. Catching will only net Napoli a career ending leg injury.
3. That the market is not super hot for Napoli right now. He only wants four years at the ripe old age of 31? What's so bad about that? What does Hamilton want? 10 years or so at the age of 33? The M's should want Napoli for four years anyway, because he should anchor the lineup as more than a short term investment. Napoli, to my -un-SABR eye, seems to have the Jim Thome style old player skills, which includes hitting a lot of home runs and cleaning up lots of bases, and then running around the bases very slowly.
Is this guy ever going to retire?