ARLINGTON - The Rangers first base situation comes down to this: It's either Mitch Moreland or Mike Napoli.

It won't be both.

While the Rangers remain interested in having Napoli return in 2016, general manager Jon Daniels acknowledged on Thursday that unless the club moved another bat there might not be a fit for Napoli. The "other bat," belongs to Moreland, unless somebody is interested in picking up Prince Fielder's sizeable contract.

"We all love Mike," Daniels said. "But there is a challenge of having three guys who, outside of DH, are relatively limited to first base. Mike probably fits us best if there is another move where we get presented with something on the trade front that opens some playing time up."

If anybody presents a trade offer, it's likely to be Pittsburgh. The Pirates have long had an affinity for Moreland, based partly on his relationship with manager Clint Hurdle (dating to 2010). And Pittsburgh may have a greater need. The Pirates declined to offer left-handed hitting first baseman Pedro Alvarez a contract on Wednesday. Alvarez made $5.7 million in 2015 and was likely to jump to close to $8 million if he had gone through arbitration.

Moreland would represent a financial savings for Pittsburgh even though he is also going into his final year of arbitration. Moreland is expected to go from $2.9 million to about $5 million for 2016.

If the Rangers aren't presented with an attractive offer on Moreland, they are more likely to fill their need for a right-handed bat with a player who is a more natural outfielder. Patrick Klivehan, acquired from Seattle on Wednesday, and Ryan Rua are both right-handed hitters with outfield experience, but Daniels said they wouldn't necessarily stand in the way of the Rangers adding Napoli.

It is clear that Napoli has keen interest in returning to the Rangers. He has spent most of his offseason so far working out in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.