Alex said that the Angels came to him asking about about Vernon.
Now were I Alex and the Angel's GM said to me 'We'd like to trade for Vernon Wells" I'd turn into Daffy Duck, going 'woo woo' and bouncing off the walls and ceiling for five minutes before saying "I grudgingly accept you offer". "But we haven't made an off yet."
Now, I love Vernon and all. I love watching him play. He looks like he enjoys playing. I don't know any player that runs harder to first base each and every time. He seems like he'd be a great teammate. And he's a great person, we all know about his charity work. If you asked me what players I'd want to have over for dinner, Vernon would be at the top of my list.
But very very few players are worth the contract he got.
I must have said that Vernon couldn't be traded 100+ times on this site. Alex should be touring with David Copperfield with that magic act. Vernon has $86 million left on his contract. Rivera has one year and $5.25 left on his contract. Napoli is set to go to arbitration, he'll likely be getting somewhere around $6 million. So the Jays will be saving about $75 million over 4 year. Even in baseball dollars, that is a bunch.
There is a downside. It is yet another win later move. I am sure I am not the only one that would love to see Alex try a win now move. Just to prove he can. I had some hopes for the coming season, seeing the Rays lose Crawford and the Yankees get a year older. I thought we could make a couple of small moves that wouldn't have hurt the team of the future, that could have helped us contend now. Manny Ramirez comes to mind. If he could be had for less money than we are paying Johnny Mac, how do you not do that?
I like a lot of things that Alex is doing but I'd like him to make a win now move just to show us he can. It would make me feel better about the future.
I'm not really excited about the idea Rajai Davis playing everyday, but him playing CF feels a little better to me than him playing one of the corner spots. Juan Rivera isn't a bad player, but he's only had one season in the last 4 with an OPS+ over 100. That isn't good enough for a corner outfielder. Mike Napoli is a pretty good hitting catcher, but not someone I'd want to have take at bats away from J.P. Arencibia. His bat doesn't look as good if they have him play first base.
I do like the trade, a lot. I'd just like something to get me excited about the coming season too.