Do the Cleveland Indians intend on making the Mike Napoli signing official anytime soon?

It has been more than two weeks since news of the Cleveland Indians signing first baseman Mike Napoli emerged, so where is the official announcement?

Initial reports of the signing came on December 16, when it was revealed that the Indians signed the 34-year-old to a 1-year, $7 million dollar deal pending a physical. In most cases where this is delayed this long, it may be cause to worry about the player failing a physical, but Napoli supposedly passed his physical three days later. That lead to Paul Hoynes claiming the Indians would make Napoli's signing official the following week but we have heard nothing of the sort since.

However, there may be some light at the end of the Napoli tunnel, but it has not come from the Indians themselves. Mike Napoli tweeted out the following late New Year’s Eve:

Here we come!! Go Tribe @haleepip pic.twitter.com/iMG4OXE1TB

— Mike Napoli (@MikeNapoli25) January 2, 2016

This tweet could mean a couple things. He either is hinting that the team is ready to formally announcing the signing, he was just drunk and excited about playing in Cleveland next year, or even he still doesn’t know the Indians signed him but he bought a random hat anyway and wanted to show it off. Assuming it is one of the first two, the Tribe would presumably make the announcement on Monday at the earliest, which means they would finally have to cut ties with another player to make room on their 40-man roster.

If there is a benefit to the Indians delaying this announcement, it is just that: More time to decide on who gets the axe. The Indians already (surprisingly) cut ties with Chris Johnson to make room for Rajai Davis, and DFA’d Jerry Sands after acquiring Dan Otero from the Philadelphia Phillies.

Needing to clear a roster spot could potentially mean the quick end of Joey Butler’s career on the Indians. Butler was a waiver claim off the Tampa Bay Rays in early December. He is a left-field/designated hitter, and one of the better overall hitters the Indians added this offseason, but other additions like Collin Cowgill have better splits to pair with Lonnie Chisenhall in the outfield. Another option could be to remove Tony Wolters from the 40-man roster, which is something that should have been done a long time ago.

We will find out hopefully sometime before 2017.