Just four days after being acquired along with outfielder Juan Rivera in exchange for Vernon Wells, catcher/first baseman Mike Napoli is on the move yet again, having never suited up for the Toronto Blue Jays. The Jays announced today that the power hitting Napoli was traded to the Texas Rangers in exchange for right-handed reliever Frank Francisco and cash considerations.

Francisco was the Rangers closer in 2009 before handing the role over to youngster Neftali Feliz last season. The 31-year old native of the Dominican Republic will compete with off-season acquisitions Octavio Dotel & Jon Rauch for the vacant closer’s role as per a conference call with Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos. Anthopoulos stated the following about Francisco and the trade:

“He has a power arm with a plus fastball, plus slider,”

”He had experience closing in a very tough park to pitch in with 25 saves. We’ve always admired him from afar, and we think he has tremendous ability and obviously the ability to pitch in a lot of roles.”

“I’ve seen a lot of seasons spiral out of control because of a weak bullpen,”

“Having depth in that bullpen is going to be vital for us. Knowing that we’ll be seven deep and there will be a good competition should be very reassuring to our starters and ultimately should allow us to win the games we’re supposed to win”

Francisco owns career numbers of 17-15 with an earned run average of 3.75 with 32 saves in 283.1 innings pitched across six Major League seasons, all with the Rangers. His best season to date came in 2009 in a closing role when he earned a record of 2-3 with an ERA of 3.83 with 25 saves in 49.1IP, striking out 57.

The trade of Napoli is deemed as surprising to some, but the Jays seem to be confident that J.P. Arencibia is ready to take over the everyday job and currently have mentor Jose Molina as an insurance policy in case that plan does not work out. The addition of Francisco gives the Jays another veteran arm that has proven he can be successful in a number of bullpen roles.

With Francisco, Rauch & Dotel being added to the 2011 bullpen the Jays may in fact have a better pen then last season, which will help the team’s young starting pitching staff.

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