Mike Napoli is getting his jaw cut open

Mike Napoli will undergo Bimaxillary Advancement surgery in November, a procedure to relieve sleep apnea which involves cutting open his jaw and moving it forward and ew ew ew.

It all sounds rather grisly, but the upshot of it all is that Napoli will literally be able to breathe easier, allowing him to get a good night's sleep. And, as Napoli told WEEI, that's kind of a big deal:

"I've been dealing with sleep apnea for a long time, my whole career," Napoli wrote in a text to WEEI.com. "I've tried numerous things and none of them worked. Dental mouth piece, CPAP machine, medicines ... It's just gotten to the point where I have to get this done."

If two years ago I'd told you Mike Napoli was going to have surgery, I think we all would have assumed it was his hip condition at fault. The good news is that however nasty the procedure might sound, it's not the sort of thing that should limit Napoli come March. And so long as Mike Napoli brings the beard back for 2015, we probably won't even notice anything happened.

Please bring the beard back, Napoli. Please?