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Vernon Wells

Quick Hits: Law’s Top 100, Mahar, Sisk

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While the Angels have picked up a reputation for adding pricey outfielders in recent years, they have a highly touted, cheap one on the farm in Mike Trout. Here's more on him and some other items of note …

  • Trout is ranked No. 1 on ESPN analyst Keith Law's list of Top 100 prospects of 2011, released Thursday. Leading the charge with regard to top-25 prospects are the Royals and Rays, with three apiece. Be sure to keep the names on this list in mind, as some of them will surely come up in trade talks this season and into next offseason. In fact, two of the top 25 have already been dealt: The Blue Jays' Kyle Drabek (formerly of the Phillies) and the Padres' Casey Kelly (formerly of the Red Sox).
  • The Orioles are one team that has shown interest in minor league free agent Kevin Mahar pending the resolution of the Vladimir Guerrero situation, MLBTR has learned.  Teams are considering Mahar as an outfielder/first baseman at the Triple-A level, after the 29-year-old hit .261/.342/.423 for the Phillies' Double-A affiliate.
  • The Orioles will be in attendance when free-agent pitcher Justin Duchscherer throws a bullpen session in Arizona on Friday, writes Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. However, that is not to overstate Baltimore's interest, Kubatko notes, because scouting a pitcher's bullpen session is fairly common, and teams can only glean so much from it.
  • The Royals announced left-hander Brandon Sisk as a non-roster invitee to Spring Training, and the Brewers did the same of infielder Erick Almonte, according to press releases from each club.
  • Angels owner Arte Moreno said that the addition of Vernon Wells' salary will not preclude the team from engaging in contract-extension talks with young stars Jered Weaver and Kendry Morales, according to Bill Shaikin of the LA Times. The Halos have already begun those talks with Weaver.

Vernon Wells Notes: Rangers, Blue Jays, Angels

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You know a trade is big when Sports Illustrated, ESPN and the Wall Street Journal are chattering about it nearly a week later. Here are some Vernon Wells-related links from around the Internet…

  • Angels owner Arte Moreno says the Angels and Blue Jays discussed a Wells deal a couple weeks ago, let talks simmer for a while and revived the trade last week, according to Bill Shaikin of the LA Times (Twitter links). Moreno says the flood of criticism directed his team's way has not bothered him.
  • The Blue Jays discussed a potential deal with the Rangers, but would likely have had to pay more money to make the trade happen, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com. Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos told Heyman that the Blue Jays front office ”never engaged significantly" with clubs other than the Angels. "The other teams just were inquiring and that's how far the conversation went," Anthopoulos said. 
  • A longtime talent evaluator reminded ESPN.com's Buster Olney that Wells is, in fact, a good player. "The Angels should've been able to get the Jays to eat some money in the trade, but what I think is being forgotten is that Anaheim is getting a pretty good player. He makes them better than what they were going to be," the evaluator told Olney. 
  • In a piece for the Wall Street Journal Dave Cameron points out just how expensive the Angels' outfield has become (don't forget about Gary Matthews Jr.).

Rays, Jays & Angels Links: Manny, Damon, Wells

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Unsurprisingly, there is still plenty of chatter going on about yesterday's Vernon Wells trade as well as the Rays' agreement of terms with both Manny Ramirez and Johnny Damon. Let's round up the latest…

  • Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports hears from his sources that the Rays would not have taken one player without the other. It was either both Manny and Damon, or neither.
  • Rosenthal wonders if Ramirez will be happy making just $2MM, and if the Blue Jays would have caved and sent even $20MM to the Angels in the Wells trade had they been asked to do so (Twitter link).
  • The acquisition pushes the Angels' 2011 payroll up to about $145MM according to Mike DiGiovanna of The Los Angeles Times. He also notes that the team has about $29MM coming off the books after the season in the form of Fernando Rodney, Scott Kazmir, and Gary Matthews Jr.
  • One long-time talent evaluator told ESPN's Buster Olney that the Blue Jays would have had to eat "at least $30 million" for the trade to make sense for the Angels (Insider req'd).

Details Of The Vernon Wells Trade

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The major players in the Vernon Wells-for Mike Napoli/Juan Rivera trade discussed the move with reporters this evening, and Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times has some notable details (all Twitter links).

Reaction To The Vernon Wells Trade

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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.

Jays, Angels Swap Vernon Wells For Napoli, Rivera

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So much for the Angels' quiet offseason.  The Angels and Blue Jays have announced a blockbuster trade that sends center fielder Vernon Wells to Los Angeles in exchange for catcher/first baseman Mike Napoli and outfielder Juan Rivera.  Wells waived his no-trade clause to make the deal happen.

Wells, 32, hit .273/.331/.515 with 31 homers for Toronto in 2010, rebounding from an injury-plagued and disappointing stretch from 2007-09 when he managed just a .743 OPS.  The number most associated with Wells, however, is his contract.  The center fielder signed a seven-year, $126MM extension with Toronto in 2006 that runs through 2014.  Wells is slated to earn $23MM next season and $21MM in each of the following three years, though he has the option of opting out of his deal after 2011.

The Halos took a lot of local and national criticism for failing to sign Carl Crawford, Adrian Beltre and other major targets this winter, especially since owner Arte Moreno said he was prepared to spend to get his team back into contention in the AL West.  Acquiring Wells will quiet some of those critics, but now the Angels are paying Wells a higher average annual value ($21.5MM) over the next four years than Texas is paying Beltre ($16MM) over five years or Boston is paying Crawford (roughly $20.28MM) over seven years.

Wells presumably takes over in center field for L.A. now that Torii Hunter has been shifted to right, though Hunter (-6.2 UZR/150) was a bit better than Wells (-7.0 UZR/150) in center last season.  Wells' defense did improve last year, however, and the former three-time Gold Glover could approach his old form playing on natural grass at Angel Stadium.  The Angels could also explore putting Wells in left and give Peter Bourjos for the bulk of playing time in center. 

The Angels dealt from a position of strength; along with Napoli, the Halos have backstops Jeff Mathis, Hank Conger and Bobby Wilson on their 40-man roster.

Getting Wells' $86MM salary off the books (especially without sending L.A. any money in return) is a major achievement for Toronto GM Alex Anthopoulos, given that the contract was considered perhaps the most untradeable in all of baseball.  The Jays also succeeded in keeping Napoli away from a division rival; the Rays appeared to be targeting the catcher/first baseman earlier this evening.

Napoli hit 26 home runs last year, reaching the 20-homer plateau for the third consecutive season. He hit .238/.316/.468 overall, with a career-high 137 strikeouts. The right-handed hitter has a .931 OPS against southpaws in his career, so he is a potential complement to the lefty-hitting Adam Lind at first base.  The Jays could combine Napoli with Lind and Edwin Encarnacion at first, or with Jose Molina and J.P. Arencibia behind the plate.  Would-be base stealers were successful 73% of the time they tried stealing off of Napoli in 2010; they've been successful 76% of the time in his career.

Napoli, 29, is arbitration eligible this year and eligible for free agency after 2012. He asked for $6.1MM in 2011 and the Angels countered with a $5.3MM offer, as MLBTR's Arb Tracker shows.  MLBTR's Tim Dierkes used Napoli as an example of the arbitration process in this October post, predicting his agent could ask for $6-7MM.

Rivera, 32, is set to earn $5.25MM next season, the last year of a three-year, $12.75MM pact he signed with the Halos following the 2008 campaign.  The veteran outfielder has a .272/.323/.448 line over the last two seasons, and has a career .832 OPS against left-handed pitching (though that OPS against lefties dropped to .746 last year).  Rivera could play right field and allow Jose Bautista to move to third base.  Rivera is also a candidate for DH time in Toronto, and could spell Travis Snider against southpaws.

Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports were the first to report on a Napoli-to-Toronto move this afternoon, and then added the news of Wells' involvement, plus details about the outfielder's physical and waiving of his no-trade clause.  Mike Wilner of Sportsnet Radio The FAN 590 confirmed the Wells-for-Rivera/Napoli trade package in an e-mail to MLBTR and Shi Davidi of the Canadian Press tweeted the news that no money was being exchanged in the deal.

MLBTR's Mark Polishuk also contributed to this post

Tallet, Encarnacion Clear Waivers

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Brian Tallet, Edwin Encarnacion and Vernon Wells have all cleared waivers, tweets Bob Elliott of The Toronto Sun.  We'll overlook Wells since no team will take on his mammoth contract, but the other two Blue Jays could draw some trade interest.

Tallet has a bit more than $500K remaining on his contract, and has held left-handed batters to a .474 OPS this season.  Minnesota just lost Jose Mijares for the next month and could be in the market for a lefty reliever.  The Twins have been connected to the Jays in trade rumors about relievers ever since Joe Nathan went on the shelf during spring training.  The two clubs weren't able to agree to a deal for the likes of Scott Downs or Jason Frasor, but Tallet would be available at a much lower price.

Encarnacion is a bit of a tougher sell.  He has about $1.3MM left on his contract, hasn't hit much (.242/.305/.458) and has an infamously shaky third base glove.  That slugging percentage might lead a team or two to make a call, but unless a contender has a sudden injury to a starting third baseman, there might not be much of a market for the 27-year-old. 

That said, such an injury just occurred in Atlanta.  If the Braves feel they need reinforcements to fill the Chipper Jones void, Toronto could be happy to make a trade.  Moving Encarnacion would likely mean that Jose Bautista gets most of the time at third base for the Jays, thus creating more outfield playing time for Travis Snider and Fred Lewis.

Cafardo’s Latest: Blue Jays, Dunn, Washburn, Dukes

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In his column today for the Boston Globe, Nick Cafardo explores the effect of Arizona's controversial immigration law on baseball. He also shares a few notes from around the league:

  • The Blue Jays' huge collection of scouts should have them well-prepared to deal at this year's trade deadline. Cafardo names a slew of players who the Jays could try to move if they're out of playoff contention, noting that the club will "likely listen to anything." The list includes Vernon Wells, Lyle Overbay, Alex Gonzalez, Scott Downs, Jose Bautista, John Buck and Jose Molina.
  • Molina has thrown out eight of 11 basestealers so far this year, a statistic that could intrigue the Red Sox. However, Cafardo says the Sox "will never deal for a catcher who is all defense, no offense."
  • Cafardo suggests that Adam Dunn would be a good fit at DH for the Red Sox in the post-David Ortiz era.
  • Jarrod Washburn's time off this spring has given him a few extra weeks to recover from offseason knee surgery, though now teams will have to assess how long it will take Washburn to be major league ready. According to Cafardo, the Dodgers' pitching issues make them look every day like a better fit for Washburn.
  • A source tells Cafardo that Elijah Dukes' rumored deal with the Tabasco Olmecas of the Mexican League fell through after Dukes failed to show up for a reporting date. Cafardo indicates that the 25-year-old could end up spending the year away from baseball.

Morosi On Washburn, Tigers, Vernon Wells

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A few links from Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports…

Largest Contracts In Team History

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We've already looked at the largest contracts by service time and position, so let's now dig up the largest contracts ever given out by each of the 30 teams. These are in terms of guaranteed money only, but some could end up being even larger because of incentives and option years.

Thanks to Cot's Baseball Contracts for the info.

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