More on the Vernon Wells trade

Erect the gold statue

Now that some of the dust has settled after the blockbuster deal that sent the king of all albatrosses to the LA Angels it's time o do a little more analysis. In the interest of keeping my thoughts together and organized, I present to you the Glory Jays' Top Eleven Vernon Wells Trade Reaction Contemplations. Kind of rolls of the toungue, doesn't it?

1) The fact that no money is involved and the Jays are actually acquiring useable pieces in Mike Napoli and Juan Rivera makes me love Alex Anthopolous even more. He's literally done the impossible in ridding the team of Wells' contract, and got something positive in return.

2) I guess this means that Rajai Davis will be the team's everyday centre fielder, which I'm actually ok with (for now). Davis sucked last year, no doubt, but his -7.1 UZR in centre field was basically the same as Wells (-7.0 UZR). The difference being that Davis' UZR in centre field in the previous two years were positive, while Wells put up -21.8 and -18.4 UZR in 2008 and 2009, respectively. So I think it's safe to conclude that Rajai Davis is a better centre fielder than Vernon. He obviously doesn't provide the same power potential that Wells does (I'll let you look those numbers up), but if he can return anywhere close to the OBP he put up in 2009 he'll be a more than capable lead-off hitter with base-stealing speed, which is something the Jays lacked (power was not).

3) This deal obviously frees up a shitload of money, which could potentially be used to lock up Joe Bautista long term. I still don't know if I buy into this train of thought, as it feels as though they would be falling right back into the trap that AA just managed to wriggle the team out of. Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge Bautista fan, but if he lights it up again next year he'll likely command a massive salary that could hand-cuff the team once his performance inevitably declines with age. If by the trade deadline Bautista is mashing like he did last year, I'd expect AA to trade him if the right package of blue-chip prospects is offered, rather than look to sign him long term.

4) The Jays receiving Mike Napoli in the deal gives the team a highly versatile and productive player which creates a great deal of options for them. He can be used as a platoon catcher with JPA, a platoon first baseman with Adam Lind (Napoli is a right handed hitter who hits lefties well, while Lind is not and does not), and/or a platoon DH with Encarnacion. The Jays also now control a player who could become very attractive to teams in the playoff hunt at the trade deadline next year.

5) I was glancing over some LA Angels blogs and forums last night to see what the general reactions were to the trade. At first, Angles fans seemed confused but somewhat optimistic because they (rightfully so) assumed that money would be coming LA's way to offset some of Vernon's contract. As I scrolled through the discussions, it basically turned into a black hole of disbelief. Blue Jays forums were jam packed with disbelief as well, only it was more like a teenager getting laid by his friend's hot mom, and pinching himself to make sure it wasn't a (wet) dream.

6) I found it interesting to compare this transaction to that of Alex Rios going to the Chicago White Sox. On the one hand we have Vernon Wells, whose contract dwarfs Rios' and is 3 years older than him, being traded to the Angles for a positive return. On the other hand, Rios was given away for free to Chicago just to rid the team of his contract. This trade just gets better and better, while I continue swooning over AA.

7) There's no doubt that in the short term, the Jays are worse off without Wells in the line-up, which is something that maybe Anthopolous is banking on. Toronto will have only $17.4M in payroll commitments in 2012 and will likely make a run at some high-end free-agents. If the Jays finish in the bottom half of the standings in 2011 their first round draft pick is protected and the team won't have to give it up if/when they make a splash in the free agent market. Pujols anyone?
8) As Keith Law pointed out, this deal wreaks of deperation on the Angels part. I'm assuming the majority of GMs around baseball would agree and may be hesitant to pick up the phone the next time Anthopolous calls, seeing as how he so opportunistically took advantage of LA's depseration.

9) I read on an Angels blog that what LA has essentially done is give away Mike Napoli and sign Juan Rivera to a 4-year $85M contract. While I don't necessarily agree that Rivera and Wells are the same player statistically (and neither does WAR graphs), it's still a pretty damn funny way to look at it.

10) Given the amount of money remaining on Wells' contract, he'll make a higher per year salary than what Carl Crawford is making in Boston. Granted Crawford is signed for 7 years as opposed to Vernon's 4, but this really has to sting for Angels fans. I think we should all give a collective "THANK YOU!" to Carl Crawford and Adrian Beltre for spurning the Angels and signing elsewhere. There's no way this deal gets done, without a boatload of cash going LA's way, if either of those players sign with the Angels.

11) Some quick comments from MLBtraderumors.com regarding the trade:

• Keith Law points out that with the money Toronto saved in the trade, the Jays could become very good, very fast. I tend to agree.
• Richard Griffin tweeted that this deal might already be Anthopolous' best ever. That's impossible to say, Richard, but it is a damn good notch in his belt. 
• Ken Rosenthal wonders if the Jays would have caved and sent $20M+ to the Angels had it been necessary. As you'll see in point "8" of a previous post of mine, I would have been willing to eat even more. 
• Along the same lines, a long time talent evaluator told ESPN's Buster Olney that the Jays would have had to take on at least $30M in salary to make the deal remotely even. 

Have a great Saturday night!