Pundits are already chiming in on the huge Vernon Wells-for Mike Napoli/Juan Rivera trade between the Angels and Blue Jays this evening. A sampling…
- Lyle Spencer of MLB.com likes the trade for both teams, noting that the addition of Wells gives the Angels "the makings of a dream outfield."
- The trade "had the air of desperation" to it, says Mark Saxon of ESPNLosAngeles.com. Saxon counts this trade along with the Scott Kazmir deal as cases of the Angels taking "other teams' financial problems off their hands." On the plus side, Saxon points out that Wells and Torii Hunter are ideal candidates to mentor Mike Trout, the Halos' center fielder of the future.
- Wells is "absolutely the wrong player right now for the Angels, who have made one the worst desperation moves I can remember," writes Keith Law of ESPN.com. Law points out that with all of the money Toronto is saving with Wells' contract off the books, the Jays "could become very good, very fast."
- Acquiring Wells for Rivera and Napoli added roughly $75MM to the Angels' payroll over the next four years, and Fangraphs' Dave Cameron looks at what else the Halos could've bought with that money this winter.
- "It's hard to get away from the thought that [the Angels] were better off when they were doing nothing," writes Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com. Knobler thinks the Angels are taking a big risk in acquiring Wells, who does nothing to "change an Angels offense that has gotten older and less athletic as the years have gone on."
- Ken Fidlin of the Toronto Sun looks at how the trade alters the Jays' lineup and thinks Alex Anthopoulos may have to make another deal to fill a few holes.
- Anthopoulos has only been the Blue Jays' GM since October 2009, but Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star tweets that this deal might already be Anthopoulos' "best deal…ever." Griffin also tweets that the trade could "be the first step to signing [Jose] Bautista long-term."
- The Jays and Rays weren't the only AL East team with an interest in Napoli. The Red Sox looked at Napoli earlier this winter but their interest waned after acquiring Adrian Gonzalez, reports WEEI.com's Rob Bradford. Boston didn't feel Napoli was a legitimate starting catching option; the club wanted him as a first baseman and emergency catcher. The Sox put in a waiver claim for Napoli last summer.
- ESPN.com's Mark Simon looks at some Wells statistics that will trouble Angels fans — the center fielder's odd decline against left-handed pitching and his home/road splits away from the Rogers Centre.
my reaction is this was another bad move by the angels
I wonder two things here: 1) how long has this trade been brewing and 2) how in the world does AA keep things out of the media (and why don’t other GM’s)?
As a die hard jays fan I will be sad to see Vernon go ( but definitely not the ridiculous JP contract ) but absolutely praise AA for what he has done for the Jays in such a short time!
Couldn’t have said it better myself. Go Blue Jays!
I think AA has learned by watching J.P. that it’s best to keep your mouth shut and go about your business very quietly, J.P. was the media’s best friend but AA is pretty sneaky in the way he does things.
If you go to sportsnet.ca they have an interview with him.
He said that it has been going on for a few weeks. AA approached Wells and told him that there are a few teams that have inquired on him.
Over the past few days things heated up and AA gave Wells a few days to think it over.
there is no way the angels are taking on his whole contract?? it also says that vernon can opt out after this season, if he opts out we save a ton of money and have even more money available to go after some big names in next years deep free agent class. those are the only two ways this deal makes any sense to me….
I’m not so sure Vernon would be willing to opt out of the $476 billion dollars he has coming to him over next 4 years (or 3 years or whatever).
Why in the world would Wells decide to opt out on the 3 x $21 mil remaining?
for a nice split league contract with the yankees
sarcasm intended
I hope Toronto isn’t planning on giving Bautista any kind of long-term deal at this point. Yes he put up awesome numbers last year, but lets just settle his Arb case at around 8-9mil and see what they have after next year.
I totally agree with you, a big Bautista extension in the offseason could be terrible (Could) I don’t want to swap out one bad contract with another. Though, after seeing a move like this I have to think AA is to smart to give Bautista a big extension until the midpoint of the season just to make sure last year wasn’t a fluke. One year contract; were saving a ton of money so I hope they save a good portion for the draft this year.
Id risk a 3 year 30 million deal, thats peanuts nowadays. specially since we just got rid of wells contract. If you let Bautista have another break out season hes going to test FA and command a wells type of contract… whats the point in that?
unless Bautista returns back to his previous level, then it would be too much money. at that point it would not be a Vernon Wells type contract problem, but it could be a Lyle Overbay type contract problem. Overbay was also someone over the last 2 years was making too much money to trade.
I think the best move is to wait and see what Bautista is doing during the season. IF during the season he is hitting, no problem to talk extension then.
Agreed. Wait and see with Bautista because quite frankly I think he’s the hardest player to predict for his upcoming season.
Id still risk it, you let him play out this season and he happens to have another great year why would he extend during the season of a good year when hes set to hit Free agency lol he would just go to fa and get his money, where as if you sign him now 3 /30 mill which is reasonable even if he regresses 25 30 hr hitter.
I expect any big contract offered by AA to Bautista will be full of club options. Similar to Hill and Lind. Plus, the club option years will probably match to the years they project a prospect/replacement to be major league ready.
I doubt AA ever does a JP contract with a top player.
You are right their. Maybe a one year wonder that the BJays don’t need to turn into another Vernon Wells. Though I would still take Wells on my team before Bautista any day of the week.
Heres my reaction… The Angels got their high priced outfielder and it’s not Crawford, ouch.
Toronto better pick up part of his contract. Since when did speed get 6 figure contracts. Power hitters and aces are the only ones who deserve money like that. Let’s hope he performs. Maybe with fans filling up the stands he gets motivated.
AA is making JP look worse than he already did. Guy is clearing house and seriously building a future competitor.
I don’t see how this is proof he is building a competitor. Everyone on the team came from JP, and all this move did was clear cap space. Until they sign some major free agents, which is still not a guarantee, all he has done is clear cap space
Ya and take one of the worst farm teams into one of the better ones, oh and designated tons more money into scouting,and development not to mention money to sign there draft picks ,signed hechavarria, got a potential ace in morrow for a reliever, got escobar for a ss on the decline… should i keep going?
I remember when Jack Z built the future in Seattle 2 years ago.
I remember when the mariners team was compared with the blue jays team and everyone laughed hysterically
I just don’t know how AA is building this team for success. He seems to love low OBP, low speed, high HR hitters. It’s an odd skillset that he likes.
Lol hes not building with guys that hes signing and trading for right NOW… clearly hes trying to get as many high ceiling prospects, sign guys to stop gaps at the moment and when/if guys make it to the show, then open the wallet for big name free agents to fill holes that are vacant. Doesnt that make sense? when you have the scouting, draft picks and crop of prospects WITH a potential 150 million budget when he needs it,, sure makes me excited for the future.
Obviously that makes sense but every team does that (expect for the Angels apparently). And what are some other of those prospects you expect to be big time for that lineup that they will have to replace? I can think of D’ Arnaud, Hech, Snider, and… who? And don’t name Gose. He’s not a big prospect at all. Their rotation has a nice 1-2-3 punch of Romero, Drabek, and Morrow but assuming neither of the 3 ever make the next step (mostly control) none of the 3 will be a true ace. Then you have to play your cards that Mcguire finds an out pitch, Stewart doesn’t become a RP.
gose is a good prospect, tho more of a long term project at the moment. i agree he is very far from being penciled into a large major league role.
you’ve either forgot cecil or dont like him very much. IMO hes a nice mid to top end rotation type (low 90’s FB, good change and slider, lefty). he was pretty consistent for us all last year until he hit a bit of an innings wall in september.
AA is thinking far bigger than a window of contention, hes thinking dynasty. as a jays fan, i like everything hes done so far, but i want to see rogers put their money where there mouth is before i completely jump on board with the new regime. things are looking up tho, thats for sure
Escobar doesn’t fit that type, or Rajai Davis. not big pieces, but still.
What? How does he love low OBP, Low speed guys? He just acquired Davis, Lawrie who has a decent eye for a 20 year old with lots of raw upside (and is athletic). Gose another raw ATHLETIC guy that AA acquired. Napoli has a career 11% walk rate, Yunel is around 10% for his career. Not sure where you’re getting this information from….All the guys that are higher HR/low OBP guys were here before AA took over (Wells, Hills, Lind, EE, Snider). If anything AA is trying to rid some of those type of guys to sprinkle in some higher OBP guys to go a long with the Hr hitters.
Napoli has a career .346 OBP. He traded Gonzalez sub .300 OBP for Escobar who has a career .364 OBP. He traded Marcum for a guy who is an all-around offensive hitter in Lawrie. If he is playing 3B/OF, it’s arguable he is a potential 5-tool player. Davis has a career .330 OBP (Jays OBP as a whole last year was around .310) and he can steal 40-50 bases.
But yeah, he hates OBP and speed even though he has clearly stated before he wants a balanced line-up with guys that can get on base, steal and hit for power.
He traded a good young and proven mlb pitcher for a good hitting minor lge who desn’t have a defined position. Why is that a great move again?
He traded a good mlb pitcher who seems to be injury prone for a top prospect. His defined position is now 3B. For a rebuilding team, that’s a great move.
Marcum was a soft throwing RH pitcher with average stuff, which doesn’t always work in the AL Beast. Trading Marcum cleared the runway for Drabek and others (at a lower cost too)
His FB may have been average but his change was one of the best in the game. Maybe durability is an issue. He’s been in the AL East his entire career and it doesn’t seem to phase him any. Lawrie has room to improve but I’ve never been a major fan of his though.
He doesn’t really have good stats against the AL East and AA wants guys that are big and strong and can throw fairly hard. Marcum throws mainly junk but he has an amazing change-up. And yes, durability is an issue as well and AA also sold him on him who just had a career year after an injury and there are issues with the way he pitches.
AA took the guy with very high upside in Lawrie who gives the team versatility as he can move over to 3B/OF, both positions we could use him in.
We’ll fine out how this good or bad this trade is in 5 years.
if I remember correctly the Jays had approached Marcum about an extension and he was not interested. the Jays traded him rather than end up losing him when the time comes or waiting to trade him when his value was lower.
Pretty sure it was the other way around. Marcum wanted an extension and who wouldn’t if you are in the same position as him and came off a surgery, stayed healthy and pitched a good season. You want some assurance.
obviously you have to reserve judgement until lawrie shows what he can do in the bigs. it seems that the jays doubted marcum’s long term effectiveness in the AL East whether for health reasons or simply lack of power stuff. given their depth at SP at the moment, the move made sense. I really liked shaun marcum, but i understand where the jays were coming from
the whole lack of position thing is completely overblown. i believe the old adage is “if you have a stick, they will find a spot for you”. from what i understand, lawrie is athletic enough to play whatever position he wants at a high level. that kind of flexibility is an attraction, not a liability. obviously becoming a good defensive player will take some dedication on lawrie’s part, given the number of errors he made at 2B last year but he seems to be a competitor and willing to do whatever it takes to reach the big leagues quickly. the jays have tons of defensive flexibility on their big league roster (hill, bautista, etc.) so their is almost nothing keeping lawrie from making the big leagues very soon.
do you even know a thing about the blue jays or are you commenting just for the hell of it?
Yes please 🙂
“one of the better farm teams in baseball” a claim made by half the teams in the major leagues. Giving extra money to scouting, development, and draft picks is another thing done by most teams in baseball, EScobar was nice, but he isn’t exactly a gamebreaker. Didn’t he decline last year and have a problem with his attitude? Atlanta got rid of him for a reason.
So basically he is doing what most teams in baseball do and going a little farther by clearing cap space. Cap space means nothing if you don’t sign free agents – an area in which Toronto has not been exactly stellar in the past (may be the fact it’s Toronto).
I still don’t see how this makes him special.
So he is making moves, but none of these moves is a major accomplishment (actually getting rid of Wells was more of an example of the foolishness of Reagin that genius by AA, taking advantage of an idiot is not a major accomplishment in my book). The Blue Jays were already 1or 2 players from contention in my mind. Wake me up when he signs some major talent.
Did you not read who he aquired prosepect wise? all you mention was escobar? lol we went from 28th to like 8th in 1 year as far as farms teams go, so im not just saying that for the sake of saying it, like most fans… and i think i need to mention brandon morrow again… probably the best deal aside from getting rid of well’s contract without eating any money while still getting quality back.
I think our differences revolve around the worth we place on prospects. When the Tigers acquired Austin Jackson and he came into the major leagues immediately, that’s what I consider “building a contender” acquiring prospects 2-3 years from the majors to me is just taking standard risks.
I’m not saying AA isn’t doing a great job, I just think people are a little too quick to make all his moves seem so good.
Yunel Escobar, Brandon Morrow, Kyle Drabek, Jon Rauch, and Mike Napoli in the majors.
Brett Lawrie, Adeiny Hechaveria, Anthony Gose, and Travis D’Arnaud in AA & AAA.
Not bad additions to Travis Snyder, Ricky Romero, Aaron Hill, Adam Lind, and Jose Bautista.
naming Hill, Lind, Rauch, and Gose may be reaches but it’s not a bad core.
I get your point. Thing to consider is Hill, Lind, and Rauch have option years in their contracts. For Hill and Lind, those years seem to be years where other prospects (lower level) are projected to develop. It appears AA knows how to hedge his bets.
Cap space?
I like when people pretend they know what they are talking about and say JP did such a bad job. What did JP do so bad exactly? I bet you couldn’t name 3 valid points.
Signed a reliever to a 5-year $55mil contract, signed an old Frank Thomas to $20mil+/2yr contract and gave Wells that extension. His drafting wasn’t too bad, considering he had all of 4 scouts. He irked Adam Dunn by basically saying he was garbage. Said he could play moneyball in the AL East, only to say that there was no hope in competing without a $150mil payroll 5-6 years after being hired as the GM.
Need I go on?
1. Relieve – It was the contracts that were given at the time. No different than GMjr and the rest of them. He was one of the top closers in baseball. No one had a crystal ball that he would get hurt.
2. Frank Thomas takes good care of himself and was coming off 39HR and .926 OPS in a pitcher’s park.
3. Adam Dunn, give you that.
4. Moneyball – At the time the payroll difference from us and Boston/NY wasn’t nearly what it is now. He didn’t expect NY and BOS to go that much higher. 2003 season, Yankees were at 157M. 2008 season, 209M
Regardless if he was one of the top closers in the game, you don’t hand out long-term contracts to a reliever. Ever.
The Jays signed Thomas to a multiyear contract at age 39. You just don’t do that, either.
The only thing I can defend JP on was the Rios contract. He was coming off 2 solid seasons, then after signing, crapped the bed.
1 BJ Ryan had very questionable mechanics.
2. So sign him to a Manny Ramirez type contract like he looks to be getting this season. Don’t give him 20M.
4.Regardless of the situation you can’t come out and say you CAN’T compete unless your payroll is higher, that’s a good way to piss your boss of and make an excuse if you do poorly. “Gee sorry fans, but, like I said, I can’t win unless I have a $150M payroll. It’s just weak.
JP had some solid drafts, despite being risk averse with high school kids (leaving us with few/no boom/bust prospects, but, more sure things). JP’s problem was he sucked at evaluating major league talent and negotiating. As a scouting director or an assistant he could be very proficient.
Reactions to the Vernon Wells trade, take your pick:
1. WTF?
2. LOL
3. Crying in the shower
1. Shock from Angels fans?
2. Laughter from Jays fans?
3. Post the Angels being raped this winter by everyone?
Nailed it.
I am still in disbelief. I keep clicking refresh on the MLBTR page waiting for someone to say, “somehow we missed this, but the final details are coming out. The players in the trade are correct, but the Jays are paying $40M over the life of Wells’ contract.”
Really Reagins? Really??? Did you do this trade while everyone else was away from the office? I can’t imagine Scioscia and Moreno thought about this trade and agreed to it. How could 3 baseball people agree to this and think its a good idea?
It’s interesting. When the Angels were good they were a team based on speed, defense and atheticism. It seems that every year they move further and further away from that and don’t really seem to be making efforts to get younger.
Close. 2 is laughter from everyone though.
Seriously……the angels are…..well…stupid…
To give up Napoli as well as eat the salary is absolutely retarded. Someone should be fired over this.
You mean Wells?
wow….i drank way too much…
MY POINT REMAINS!
This doesn’t even mention the hilarious chat on Fangraphs. Some seriously funny one liners there…
Incredible that someone fell for that 3 card monte.
AA’s next move can be to buy out JBaus arbitration years (not sure how many he has left) if he continues to increase his power then trade him the year before the contract is up. I feel like if you give Bautista a long term deal, he will create the same problem that Wells did. If Bautistas value can continuously increase or just stay close to what it was this year, he could bring in a great return.
2011 is his last arbitration year. He will be a FA at the end of the year.
nevermind that entire comment then…
He has no arbitration years left. Unless signed to an extension, he’s a free agent after 2011. But perhaps his value will increase: he may hit 60 HRs this coming season, with an OPS of 1100. Perhaps he’ll learn to play CF as well. If so, let’s trade him at the deadline! Sheesh!
Or maybe he could play baseball for the Blue Jays.
If he does I hope we do. For a king’s ransom.
Might be the worst trade in Angels history.
Also the best contract dump in history.
I agree. I didn’t think you could get much worse than Edmonds for Bottenfield, but here we are.
Holy god. Edmonds posted an *average* WAR of 7.2 over the five years following this trade.
I think that this move really catapults Anthropoulos into the elite GM ranks. The man simply gets it.
Not sure how AA can possibly get credit here. I think it’s more of a testament to the desperateness of Riggins.
It’s Reagins. And I don’t see how you can discredit a GM for making another GM look stupid while helping out his own ballclub in a big way, regardless of how desperate the other GM is.
A smart GM is good at finding those desperateness of GM’s and finding the right time to make the trade. For example, AA took advantage of Mariners situation of having a good starting rotation and having a player in Morrow who they simply didn’t value much and pretty much ruined him. AA traded for him and now he is an upcoming ace in this league.
AA also took advantage of Braves situation with what seemed like a fued between Escobar and Bobby Cox. He sold high on Gonzalez and bought low on a future shortstop in Escobar who in his time with Toronto did well.
And now this. An off-season full of promise for the Halos turned into desperation because they couldn’t get anybody and AA saw that as an opportunity to get rid of a contract and get a useful player in Napoli who provides veratility and a good bat for the team.
AA reads the market quite well and he’s taken full advantage of it.
Well said.
Sorry I still have trouble crediting a guy who, for all we know, was approached by the Angels who made that offer. The fact that he accepted it was a no-brainer, heck, the worst GM ever would have accepted that trade.
I think you have to give some credit here for taking advantage of how the market played out. Obviously the major component was the Angels willingness, but there are a few more GM’s out there with comparable, potentially impact veterans with contracts they would love to ditch, that did not get it done.
I guess you figure that Theo has been more creative over his tenure right? Please. The Sox have had the luxury of buying/trading for lots players that 3/4 of the other teams in baseball would never have a chance of getting. Then turning around, letting them go, and restocking their farm system with the picks that they got from letting that type A player walk. I give Theo credit for being able to work a crappy compensation system that needs revamping.
On one of the other posts it said Reagins approached AA about Wells at the Winter Meetings and then recently approached him about it again. That’s literally the blind squirrel finding his nut.
Gets what? That Vernon Well’s contract was hideous? Wait…..I CAN BE A GM TOO!!!
Angels got a Great person, Ok ballplayer and a Terrible contract
Dear Los Angeles Angels….
THANK-YOU, THANK-YOU, THANK-YOU. You traded for the most untradeable player in baseball and have now freed up $86 million from the Jays payroll.
Sincerely…Blue Jays Fan
id rather wells then barry zito lol
Theo…step in while you can!! Dice K and Papelbon for Weaver!!
WTF are the angels doing?? I honestly cant think of a worse trade…this is more disheartening than werth getting 120 some odd million bucks!
I just have to think that Kramer is advising the Angels that they can take Wells’ contract as a “write off”. Just a crazy trade.
reply fail!! Stop sucking disqus!
Its like asking a Hoover upright to quit sucking. If it quit sucking, it would be totally useless.
Angel fans can’t tease Dodger fans anymore about the Kevin Brown deal.
Kevin Brown was awesome for the Dodgers, also the trade wasnt terrible either.
Brown’s average season under that historically awful contract:
26 Starts, 12-6 with a 2.83 ERA and a 148 ERA+ and an average of 4 WAR per year. That contract was bad because of the injuries but it is nowhere *near* as bad as everyone makes it out to be.
Report: “Los Angeles Angels Press Release in regards to Acquiring Vernon Wells: LOL J/K guize – we want our guyz back nao.”
So the Jays are going to be massive players in the free agent market next year then?
I doubt it. Baseball-reference estimates their 2012 payroll at $95 mil when you swap out Wells for Napoli. This includes $17 mil in options they can choose not to exercise. It does not include Bautista.
I expect AA to try to do another Lawrie type trade and field a very young team in 2012 with high upside potential.
They’ll be players, as management has said they are willing to go well over 100mil if they think they can compete. Napoli is Arb eligible again after this year, and i’m going guess that Bautista will probably be gone, as I really don’t see AA locking him up long-term. Toronto will be players for some big Free Agent names, but it doesn’t mean they’re going to land any.
Yep, that option is available to AA. But, my impression is AA focuses on the prospect/talent funnel over signing a big free-agent. Believe Marcum for Lawrie is an example of this approach. Let’s see what happens to Yunel Escobar as Adeiny Hechaveiria advances with his development.
$95M?!
That is just ridiculously incorrect. Either you misread it or baseballreference estimates are broken.
It was higher before I adjusted it with the Wells for Napoli swap out.
In addition to the $20 mil in committed salary for 2012, they include the $17.5 mil in options and estimate salaries for the 12 arbitration eligible players. The list still has Marcum, Buck, Lewis, & Accordo, but not Napoli in it. So, the number is probably between $85 to $90 mil. Unless an arbitration eligible players like Brandon Morrow and Yunel Escobar magically disappears before 2012 which is possible given Adeiny Heichaveria and the boatload of pitching prospects in the minors.
According to Cots, the Jays only have $17.4 million in payroll commitments for 2012. Even with the addition of team options and arbitration figures, there is no way that it will add up even close to $85-90M. Try more like $60-70M.
I just don’t understand where you’re pulling these numbers from.
Moreno should be fired.
They had $23 Million a year for Wells, but not $20 milllion a year for Crawford? PLEASE! Not only that but they lose Napoli and don’t even make the Jays toss in some cash? This is pathetic. I hope that Angels fans aren’t dumb enough to be appeased by this nonsense.
In the meantime, the Rays and Jays got a LOT better today…
Can’t fire the guy who cuts the checks. Maybe Reagins but even still. I’m sure Moreno signed off on this trade.
Regardless of the arbitration outcome….Jose Bautista will be the highest paid Toronto Blue Jay in 2011
As he should be.
Yep
who are some significant free agents the Jays can bid on after 2011?
there is Pujols, but I do think St.Louis resigns him. even if they don’t, Pujols is one who I think would just take too much money to sign.
Prince Fielder?
Adrian Gonzalez is classified as a free agent to be as of right now, but he is going to sign that extension with Boston.
no one else significant that jumps out at me. there are some guys that could be worth the risk like Aramis Ramirez, Carlos Beltran, Jose Reyes, Jimmy Rollins.
maybe better for the Jays to look to trade to fill possible positions of upgrade, which with AA history might be a good move.
as a jays fan i absolutely love this deal. Even at the hitters friendly Rogers Centre he Vernon never put up blow u away stats… he’ll be decent but he’ll never justify his pay. You basically just bought the baseball equivalent of Rashard Lewis.
Great deal AA. this guy truly is a killer.
1 more thing…if this means a few less wins in 2011, which i dont think it will..it’s so worth it we have been chained to that deal and it was just about to truly get ridiculous. If Angels management isn’t fazed by the doe then good for them …
I think you guys will lock up Bautista,
Was there a change in the Angels’ front office about two years back? They’ve always been one of the best-run organizations, yet their last two off seasons have been questionable, both on the move and non-move front.
knowing virtually nothing about either the blue jays (except for the fact that they had vernon wells contract hanging over their heads and weighing them down), or the angels (except they had a big winter planned with the expected signings of carl crawford and adrian beltre), this trade seems to do nothing but screw the angels over. i think the biggest way this hurts anaheim future potential free agent acquisitions. how are they going to go after 1B(/DH?) Prince Fielder, or Albert Pujols (if he chooses to go the free agency route)? but then again im just a giants fan with little knowledge of these two teams. so maybe im wrong
AA is this years Jack Z, and both names are hard to spell.
Remember when AA robbed Jack Z. Yeah me too.
Napoli sucks…Rivera sucks…the Blue Jays suck…Vernon Wells is still a productive hitter and a great fielder…yes, his contract is stupid but so is Arte Moreno’s bank roll…what’s 80 million when you have 20 billion??? i am an Angels fan and i couldn’t be happier to dump these 2 loser for an All Star!…enjoy your .237 career BA…
lol…Napoli’s career mark of .251 is still 50 points higher than your new full-time starting catcher, who can’t hit a hr to save his life. Wells a great fielder? Ooook. The Angels have 20 billion, they should grab as many high priced under achieving salaries as they, hell Soriano can still kind of hit and plays great LF, trade for him next!
Dude if they were willing to spend 80 million, why not sign Dun and burn the rest of the money. By burn, I mean light it on fire with some sort of flammable substance. That would of been a better deal by far.
Could’ve got Dunn for 6 years at that price.
Lol you mad ?
Sure, The Jays sucked to a better record in a much tougher division last year. Have fun complaining about Wells from now on.
I wonder if the checked in on Milton Bradley…
All I can say, McLouth would have come cheaper.
no doubt. but Vernon Wells is a much better baseball player than McLouth.
this is a great trade for the Jays because it frees up a lot of money, but Wells on the field can still play and be very productive.
Wells has 7 WAR in the past 4 years. He’s getting paid more than 20$ million a year moving forward. I am a Wells fan (own a few of jerseys with his name on it) but he is not a great player. In fact, Napoli is a better hitter than him. And Wells defense is atricious.
well if i am an angels i would irrate to all of this. you trade away your best peice trade bait for a bloated contract. i do not see why they couldnt just bump up their offer for beltre the better player. they screwed the pooch on this one. and not mention if your going to put up 86 for 4 years why not go for broke and get crawford
How can anyone like this for LAA?
It’s like Alex is the reincarnation of Harry Houdini. Getting two affordable journeymen players, Napoli even being a possible future trade chip, and dumping a massive bad contract at the same time, is unbelievable. I don’t see any way that this can end up good for Reagins and the Angels. Even if this fell into his lap, its still brilliant execution. I’m moving Alex up into my top 5 GM’s today.
So 4/86 for Wells is better than 5/80 w/option for Beltre? I love that Wells is out of the East( he kills the Sox) and that the Angels have this albatross of their own choosing hanging around their necks!
I agree. This move puzzeling at many levels. Moreno was running his mouth in the newspapers saying that the Crawford contract was crazy but decided to do a more ” craziest ” one by trading for a player with less upside then Crawford with an higher price tag per year. If it’s not pure improvisation/desperation, i don’t know what it is.
Ugh…how can the Angels have such a great situation to field a competitive large market team in an easy division and continually throw it away. Only Mets have made more poor decisions over the last 5 years, but at least they addressed the problem and fired Minaya. Its really mystifying that Reagins has last this long…