Is there more in play in Rangers’ pursuit of Napoli than just money?

Adrian Beltre said he believes his general manager, Jon Daniels, is continuing to look for ways to upgrade the Texas Rangers’ offense. If Daniels weren’t, perhaps Beltre’s words served as a call to action.

But Daniels was, and is, seeking help at first base, primarily in the form of a veteran slugger. The Rangers have targeted free agent Mike Napoli, a fan and front-office favorite coming off his most productive season.

Oh, he’d fit in, like he did in his previous two stints with the Rangers. Plus, fans already have the Nap-o-li chant down cold.

What’s the hold up?

Money would be the obvious answer, but there has to be more to it. It’s possible that the Rangers aren’t entirely convinced they need Napoli or that bringing him even for one year is in the best interests of the team.

With the sides continuing to talk, though, it’s clear that some in the organization believe Napoli would make the Rangers better in 2017.

“I feel good about our club,” Daniels said. “If we opened up camp today or we open the season with this roster, we’ll be content with that. At the same time, we’re not going to close the door if there’s a right fit for the team and financially.”

Napoli wants two years of the Rangers’ money, while the club only wants to give him a contract for 2017. But if the sides are haggling over one year or two or $10 million or $12 million, there might be more to the delay than dollars.

Whenever Daniels has told ownership that the Rangers need a player who would stretch the budget, the owners have ponied up. These owners are just as fond of Napoli as the front office is, and could probably search their couch cushions to find the extra millions needed.

But already in the organization are three young players who can play first base and whom the Rangers hold in high regard. The club needs to know if Ryan Rua, Jurickson Profar and Joey Gallo can be productive major-leaguers.

All three have big-league time, though Rua and Profar are far more experienced than Gallo, who some club officials expect will open 2017 at Triple A Round Rock. A Rua-Profar platoon at first base, Daniels said, could produce as much at the plate as Mitch Moreland did last season (.233 average, 22 homers, 60 RBIs).

Gallo has 40-homer power potential but is still working on making contact more regularly. He’s going to strike out a lot — even he concedes that — but the Rangers need to see if Gallo can realize his potential.

If so, the Rangers have either a first baseman for the next several seasons or a stop-gap first baseman who will become Beltre’s replacement once the third baseman retires.

The Rangers also believe that the offense is better than some detractors do after losing Ian Desmond, Carlos Beltran and Moreland. Club officials are buoyed by having Carlos Gomez and Jonathan Lucroy for a full season and by the return of Shin-Soo Choo from an injury-wrecked 2016.

Productive full seasons from each of those players, in addition to the expected production from Beltre, Rougned Odor, Elvis Andrus and Nomar Mazara, will make up for the production lost via off-season departures.

“I feel confident with the players we have,” manager Jeff Banister said. “You look at Gomez, you look at Mazara, you look at a healthy Choo, you look at Lucroy and then Odor, Andrus building on what he did last year and Beltre still in the lineup.

“Are there other options out there? If there’s another bat that you can put in the mix and be part of it, yeah, you’re always looking for that.”

Napoli has done all the things the Rangers believe Rua, Profar and Gallo might be able to do. So has Josh Hamilton, who will experiment at first base in spring training on a minor-league deal. He and Napoli have something in common: power.

Napoli slugged a career-high 34 home runs in 2016. His defense at first base is better, and that’s not insignificant considering that the Rangers are trying to fill the void of the Gold Glove-winning Moreland.

“I’m going to miss Mitch,” Beltre said. “He made me better.”

Napoli also has leadership qualities and the respect of all players, and his teams win. With Beltre nearing retirement and with Yu Darvish and Lucroy potential free agents after the season, the Rangers’ window to win a world championship could be beginning to close.

That could be as big of a factor as any other and could be why the Rangers continue to look at Napoli even if they might not desperately need him.

“The exploration process, that’s for JD, the front office and myself to think about,” Banister said. “But we can’t worry about what we don’t have. We have to build a plan on what we do have and make them better every day.”

This story was originally published January 26, 2017 at 1:45 PM with the headline "Is there more in play in Rangers’ pursuit of Napoli than just money?."