The Texas Rangers and Mike Napoli are progressing towards an agreement on a two-year contract, reports T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com.

Sullivan writes that while the deal is not yet imminent, there is motivation from both Napoli and the Rangers to strike a deal as quick as possible, as other teams including the Oakland Athletics and Baltimore Orioles are interested in the 35-year-old Napoli.

Texas is in needed of offense in their lineup even after retaining a resurgent Carlos Gomez to play center field. The Rangers lost Ian Desmond, Mitch Moreland, and Carlos Beltran in free agency, and Napoli can play first base to help cover the loss of Moreland.

If/when Napoli is not playing first base, (assuming a deal gets done) the Rangers will turn to Joey Gallo, Jurickson Profar, and Ryan Rua to man first. With the Indians in 2016, Napoli appeared in 98 games at first base, and 51 games at designated hitter.

Overall, Napoli batted .239/.335/.465 with 34 homers and 101 RBIs in 150 regular season games for Cleveland in 2016. A deal with the Rangers would mean a return to the team he has spent three seasons with already in his MLB career.

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