Much Ado About Napoli

Like The Temptations, when it's cold outside Mike Napoli's got the month of May. The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim catcher has been on a tear this month after a very cold April. In his last eight games the Napster has five home runs and 10 runs batted in; hitting .385 in that span. In fact, all seven of Napoli's home runs have come in the month of May, where he's hitting .324 with 15 rbi's. Compare that to an April which Napoli hit just .167 with two runs batted in. Part of Napoli's early struggles could be attributed to a lack of consistent play due in large part to Jeff Mathis' strong play and part can be attributed to his reputation as a very streaky hitter. The same two points could also help to explain Napoli's sudden surge. The injury to Mathis has allowed Napoli to get more regular, consistent playing time, allowing Napoli to get into a groove and settle into a hot streak. Napoli has helped a struggling slumping Angels offense regain a bit of its swagger. Yet the question has to be asked, what happens when Mathis returns from the DL?

Mathis should be back in the next two weeks. He is the better defensive catcher of the two, and was enjoying what was shaping up to be his best season following up a scorching hot 2009 postseason. Before injuring his wrist, Mathis was hitting .324 with a home run and three RBI's. He also had hits in all ten of his starts. It's also worth noting that Angels manager Mike Scioscia, a former big league catcher himself, favors the defensive savvy Mathis over the defensive liability Napoli. So it's fair to assume that Mathis, when he returns, will regain his starting catching duties. Where does that leave Napoli?

Full-Time DH duty?

Napoli last season appeared as the Angels DH eighteen times (72 plate appearances). His numbers? .359 BA/3 HR/11 RBI/.431 OBP /.594 SLG. For the record his career OBP/SLG of .357/.497. With Hideki Matsui (.231 BA, .176 BA/ 1 HR/ 9 RBI in May) and Juan Rivera (.235 BA, .687 OPS) struggling/ losing playing time to the likes of Michael Ryan and Reggie Willits, it could make a lot of sense to make Napoli the teams full-time designated hitter. Matsui, whose May slump along with Vladimir Guerrero's strong play in Texas has his signing reminding Halo fans more of Steve Finley then Bobby Abreu, and Rivera, who has struggled mightily against right-handed pitching (.219 BA, .659 OPS) could platoon in left and at DH when Napoli logs in his time behind the plate. Napoli, in turn, will be able to keep his powerful bat in the lineup behind Kendry Morales in the six spot, giving the Angels top run producer some protection. And with it unlikely that Matsui will be retained after this season, Nap could slide into a permanent DH role. Napoli's bat is far too potent to ride the pine for 70+ games.

Trade Napoli?

Napoli's power masks a lot of his defensive shortcomings/ streaky tendencies. If the Angels don't want to play Napoli full-time, the guy could fetch some help on the market. The Angels need bullpen help. Napoli could be used to bring in a quality middle to late inning reliever and shore up the AL worst bullpen. And what about Astros ace Roy Oswalt, who recently asked Houston management for a trade. Napoli, at 28, would be the young talent the Astros would covet. And given their current catching situation (Humberto Quintero and career backup Kevin Cash) the Astros could certainly use Napoli's service. Also its worth noting that Bobby Wilson, who would assume second catching duties if Napoli were traded would be a serviceable backup until Hank Conger was ready to step in.

Personally, I'd like to see Napoli become the Angels full-time DH, but if he can he'll the Angels terrible bullpen, maybe the Angels should look into moving the slugger. Or teach him to play third. Yeah, let's go with that.