The Texas Rangers agreed to sign first baseman and designated hitter Mike Napoli to a one-year deal on Tuesday. 

Media reports suggest that Napoli's deal is worth $8.5 million and could include a club option. An announcement probably will not come until next week. 

The contract represents a return to Texas for Napoli, who spent two seasons there from 2011 through 2012. 

The Houston Astros have agreed to sign designed hitter and outfielder Carlos Beltran, as first reported by ESPN's Buster Olney. 

According to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, Beltran has signed a one-year, $16 million deal wiht a full no-trade clause. 

The Astros have had a busy offseason thus far, acquiring catcher Brian McCann, claiming Nori Aoki off of waivers and signing outfielder Josh Reddick and starting pitcher Charlie Morton.

Houston had a disappointing 2016 season, going 84-78 and missing the playoffs, despite the fact that they won an AL Wild Card the year prior. It appears that they are trying to make a run for the pennant for the first time since winning the World Series in 2005. 

Beltran, even on the short-term contract, should certainly help, especially because he is coming off of back-to-back solid seasons even at an older age. 

MLBTradeRumors.com projected Beltran to earn a one-year, $14 million contract, so his new deal falls very closely in line with their projection. 

Last season, Beltran hit .295/.337/.513 with 29 home runs and 93 runs batted in over 593 plate appearances. He was worth 2.3 WAR, according to FanGraphs with the Yankees and Rangers. 

Beltran has spent time with the Astros in the last, playing with them for half a season in 2004. 

--Devan Fink

The Miami Marlins have acquired outfielder Jeff Francoeur in a three-team trade with the Atlanta Braves and Texas Rangers on Wednesday, as Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports and Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported. 

​In the deal, the Braves acquired minor league first baseman and shortstop Dylan Moore from the Rangers and minor league catcher Matt Foley from the Marlins. Texas received three international signing bonus slots (two from Miami and one from Atlanta). 

The 32-year-old Francoeur will provide outfield depth for the Marlins, especially in the wake of Giancarlo Stanton's groin injury that could keep him out for the rest of the season.

Francoeur also will be a veteran presence in an otherwise young and inexperienced clubhouse, something that the Braves had relished during his stay. In fact, the team decided to hold onto Francoeur at the non-waiver trade deadline due to this. 

As for performance, Francoeur does not provide loads of value. This season, he is hitting .249/.290/.381 with seven home runs and 33 runs batted in over 276 plate appearances.

Francoeur has played a tick above replacement level with defense and base running added in, with his wins above replacement checking in at 0.1, per FanGraphs.

In dealing Francoeur, the Braves will receive the 24-year-old Moore. The Rangers' 7th round pick in 2015, Moore has hit for an .816 OPS in 494 plate appearances between Class-A and Class-A Advanced. He is not among the Rangers' top-30 prospects, per MLB.com. 

The Braves also received the 22-year-old Foley from the Marlins. The 40th round pick in 2015 has a .644 OPS in 44 plate appearances Rookie-Level and Class-A Short Season this season. 

--Devan Fink

The Texas Rangers will be signing outfielder Carlos Gomez, as first reported by Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports. 

Gomez will sign with the Rangers for a prorated portion of the league minimum salary, which works out to around $110,000 for the rest of the season, as Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports. 

The Rangers will send Gomez to Triple-A Round Rock for a quick tuneup for a few games before adding him to the Major League roster this Thursday. 

The 30-year-old Gomez was designated for assignment on Aug. 10 by the Astros. The two-time All-Star (both with the Brewers) has struggled this season, hitting just .210/.272/.322 with five home runs and 29 RBI in Houston. 

According to FanGraphs, Gomez has been above average defensively and on the bases this year, but it has not been enough to equate out to actual value. Gomez has been worth -0.4 wins above replacement. 

Once signed by the Mets out of the Dominican Republic in 2002, Gomez broke out in 2013 when he hit for a .843 OPS (128 OPS+) in 590 plate appearances with the Brewers. He continued his success in 2014 and was named to back-to-back All-Star teams. 

The Astros acquired Gomez from the Brewers on Jul. 30, 2015, but he has not lived up to expectations there, leading to his release just over a year later. 

Houston still owes Gomez the rest of his $9 million salary this year, working out to about $2 million remaining. He is in the final year of a four-year, $28.3 million deal he signed with the Brewers and will hit free agency again this offseason. 

--Devan Fink

Texas Rangers designated hitter Prince Fielder will end his career in a press conference on Wednesday, as FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal first reported. 

Fielder is not retiring tomorrow. Rather, he and the Rangers are announcing that he will not be cleared by doctors to play in the Major Leagues again. Fielder had neck surgery this year and was not going to return to action for at least the rest of the season. 

The Rangers still have Fielder under contract through 2020. He is entitled to his compensation because he is not retiring. When a player retires, they, in theory, renounce the rest of their contract and forfeit the money. In Fielder’s case, he has been classified as medically ineligible, allowing him to be paid the rest of his deal. 

Luckily for Texas, they had an insurance policy placed on Fielder’s deal that will cut their payments in half. According to Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News, the Rangers will only owe Fielder $9 million per season instead of $18 million per season over the rest of his deal. 

Fielder signed a nine-year, $214 million contract with the Detroit Tigers in the 2010-11 offseason. He is still owed approximately $100 million on the rest of his deal, with the Tigers paying him $6 million of the $24 million he will make every year from here on out. 

The 32-year-old Fielder was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers with the 7th overall pick of the 2002 MLB Draft. 

He was a big-time slugger during his time in Milwaukee, leading him to be named to three All-Star Games. A fan favorite with the Brewers, Fielder hit for a .282/.390/.540 slash line with 230 HR, 656 RBI and a 556-779 walk-to-strikeout ratio over 4,210 plate appearances in seven years. According to FanGraphs, Fielder was worth 20.1 WAR from 2005 to 2011. 

After a brief stay in Detroit, Fielder then went on to the Rangers, where he has not been nearly as productive. He has hit .269/.350/.410 with Texas, hitting just 34 HR with 158 RBI in his stay here. 

This season, he has not been hitting well at all. He hit .212/.292/.334 with 8 HR, 44 RBI and 63 strikeouts over 370 plate appearances. The Rangers went on to replace Fielder, at least in the short term, with Carlos Beltran, who has played designated hitter since being acquired from the Yankees. 

Cover Those Bases wishes Fielder the best of luck with his health and off-the-field success in his post-playing days. 

—Devan Fink