SURPRISE, Ariz. _ Everybody on the Texas Rangers' side of the Surprise Recreation Campus, and probably everybody on the neighboring Kansas City Royals side, likes Mike Napoli.
His life consists of baseball and partying _ at least that's the image many have, and possibly not in that order. His name lends itself perfectly to a ballpark crowd's chants. The guy is a flat-out winner.
What's not to like about that?
"I love Mike," slugger Joey Gallo said.
The Rangers said hello again Wednesday to Napoli, finally making official a one-year, $8.5 million contract that includes an $11 million club option for 2018. He will serve as the Rangers' everyday first baseman, which is a good thing for the Rangers but a blow to some of his spring teammates.
With Napoli in the fold, a host of others, including Gallo, saw their chances of making the Opening Day roster diminish greatly and are forced to take on other positions.
"I look at it in two ways," general manager Jon Daniels said. "One, I still think we have several spots up for competition, and in a couple, those guys, the versatility those guys bring to the table could play a pretty big factor.
"Then secondly, that's as of Feb. 17. There are a lot of things that are going to happen between now and the end of the year and even before Opening Day."
The Rangers had lumped first base with designated hitter and left field as three interchangeable spots. With first base out of the equation, it appears as if Shin-Soo Choo will spend more time at designated hitter than right field and that Nomar Mazara will be in right field more than left.
To that end, utility infielder Jurickson Profar will play more in left field this spring, both for the Rangers and when he is with the Netherlands in the World Baseball Classic. Gallo, who prepared the entire off-season only at first base, will play third base and left field.
"The goal now is just to play every day," said Profar, whose goal a year ago was to be a starting middle infielder this season. "That's it."
Josh Hamilton is now saying he can play the outfield, with his flirtation with first base on the outs, and he is confident that his bat will be too productive for the Rangers to ignore come Opening Day.
The best chance for Delino DeShields, the Opening Day center fielder last season, to make the team is by excelling in left field.
Ryan Rua seems to be a perfect fit there.
All players of his ilk could find this camp to be an interesting one.
"I didn't hear anything," Gallo said. "I just brought every glove I could find."
The Rangers believe that their offense goes if Choo is going, and they want to use the DH spot to keep him healthy and in the lineup.
Choo again said that he doesn't want to be a full-time DH and is still able to play right field effectively. He also repeated that he is a team-first player and is willing to do whatever is asked of him.
"I played center field in Cincinnati," Choo said. "Can you believe that?"
All of the shuffling, five days before position players are even scheduled to report to camp, became necessary because the Rangers believe that Napoli is the missing piece to their offense and clubhouse.
He connected for 34 home runs last season and drove in 101 runs, both career-highs, in helping lead the Cleveland Indians to the World Series. The power threat will give Adrian Beltre or Rougned Odor some needed protection, and the defense at first base, while not at the Gold Glove level of Mitch Moreland, is good enough.
"He adds another bully in the box for us, one that we know very well," Banister said. "He adds the dimension necessary to solidify what we felt was a really good offense. That's the tactical side of it. The human side of it is we bring a guy back into our clubhouse and on our team that is not just a uniform. It's a person that lives and breathes winning."
The 2016 season marked the eighth time Napoli has been to the playoffs. He believes that the Rangers gave him the best chance among his multiple suitors to make a ninth trip to the postseason.
They were at the top of his list.
"Obviously, I wanted to be here," Napoli said. "From the beginning, just going through the process, them showing interest in me, I knew it was a great opportunity to come back here."
But what appeared to be great opportunities for others in camp have been diminished.