Red Sox, Mike Napoli agreement hit a snag?

The Boston Red Sox were expected to make their deal with free-agent first baseman/catcher Mike Napoli official on Tuesday but did not hold the news conference, signaling that something could be amiss with the agreement, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports:

"Could Mike Napoli’s deal with the Boston Red Sox be in jeopardy?

The Red Sox anticipated introducing Napoli at a news conference Tuesday, according to major-league sources, but did not go forward with the event…

Neither Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington nor Napoli’s agent, Brian Grieper, responded to requests for comment."

The Red Sox tabbed Napoli as their primary offseason target early on this offseason and came to an agreement on a three-year, $39 million contract with him on Dec. 3, the first day of the Winter Meetings.

The 31-year-old Napoli was originally expected to undergo his physical last Wednesday – the final step in the deal finalization process – and be introduced at the end of the week, but the righty slugger did not actually begin his physical until Monday.

This could very well end up being much ado about nothing – and I posit that it probably is – but perhaps Boston came upon something in Napoli’s test results that has raised a red flag.

Be sure to stay tuned by following our Mike Napoli Rumors stream.