Yankees rumors: New York interested in Mike Napoli

Free agent and former Texas Rangers catcher/first baseman Mike Napoli is drawing interest from the New York Yankees, reports Bob Nightengale of USA Today:

Mike Napoli, the Texas #Rangers free-agent catcher, is drawing interest from the New York #Yankees

— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) November 12, 2012

Russell Martin, the Yankees starting catcher over the past two seasons, is also a free agent. While there was some expectation that Martin would re-sign with the Yankees, the club could also look to alternative options such as Napoli.

Martin, 29, is two years younger than Napoli, 31, but the former Ranger owns the superior offensive track record. Last season with Texas Napoli hit .227/.343/.469 with nine doubles, two triples and 24 home runs over 352 at-bats. He was even more impressive at the plate in 2011, when he hit .320/.414/.631 with 25 doubles and 30 home runs over 369 at-bats.

While Martin has caught 125 and 128 games for the Yankees over the past two seasons, Napoli has never started more than 84 games behind the plate.