Reds hire former All-Star catcher for unspecified role

The Reds have hired Mike Napoli for an unspecified role within the organization, WEEIs Rob Bradford reports .

Napoli spent the previous five seasons on the Cubs staff as a quality assurance coach and then as first base coach before being let go in October.

New Reds manager Terry Francona is quite familiar with Napoli, as Napoli played under Francona on the 2016 Indians team that fell just short of winning the World Series.

Napoli hit .239/.335/.465 with 34 homers in 645 plate appearances as Clevelands everyday first baseman/DH, bringing plenty of pop to the clubs run to the American League pennant.

That ended up being the second-last season of Napolis 12-year career in the majors, as his production fell off with the Rangers in 2017, and a return to Cleveland in 2018 didnt result in any time at the big league level.

Napolis duties with the Reds arent yet known, as the team has already announced its coaching staff for Franconas first season as the clubs skipper.

Co-bench coach Brad Mills and hitting coach Chris Valaika are new hires with past Cleveland ties to Francona, though most of the coaching staff are holdovers from former manager David Bell s staff.

Since there hasnt yet been word of any sudden departures from the Cincinnati staff, a new position could be created for Napoli to join the mix, or is it possible Napoli is taking on a non-coaching job? This article first appeared on MLB Trade Rumors and was syndicated with permission..

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