When Mike Napoli agreed to return to Arlington for a third time in his career this past offseason, the Rangers front office had reason to be excited.

Last season, Napoli put up numbers uncharacteristic of a 34-year-old. The eleven-year veteran powered Cleveland all the way to the World Series.

But Napoli's first 30 games with the Rangers have been underwhelming, and ESPN.com baseball writer David Schoenfield said in a recent column that he thinks the Indians saw it coming.

"The veteran first baseman was coming off a 34-homer, 101-RBI season with the Indians and received a lot of credit from teammates for his leadership skills and baseball aptitude. They let him walk as a free agent anyway, perhaps sensing he wasn't likely to repeat his 2016 numbers at age 35."

Napoli has hit five homers so far and has driven in 13 RBIs, but his .167 batting average won't be raising any eyebrows.

Edwin Encarnación, who Cleveland signed from the Toronto Blue Jays to replace Napoli, isn't doing much better. He is hitting .214, but has totaled less RBIs while matching Napoli's home run count.

Mitch Moreland, who the Rangers opted not to re-sign in favor of Napoli, is off to a great start with the Boston Red Sox, hitting .275 and leading the majors in doubles with 14.

Schoenfield said Napoli no longer has the bat speed needed to hit a good fastball, leading to a slow start he considers one of the worst in baseball.

"There's no timetable for Adrian Beltre's return, but when he comes off the disabled list, you might see Joey Gallo shifted to first base and Napoli to the bench."