The Untold Secrets Behind the Vernon Wells Trade That Shook the Blue Jays Forever

Looking back fifteen years to this very day, I still find it remarkable that Alex Anthopoulos pulled off what seemed like an unwieldy feat: trading Vernon Wells. Honestly, I thought it was a pipe dream given Vernon’s hefty contract. The Angels decided to take on Vernon and the massive financial load in exchange for Juan Rivera and Mike Napoli—quite the shakeup at the time.

Vernon was set to earn approximately $86 million over the next four years, with a significant salary jump looming from $15.7 million in 2010 up to $26.1 million the following year. Perfect timing to cut ties, right? Vernon’s stint with the Angels lasted two years, during which he slashed .222/.258/.409 along with 36 home runs before being shipped off to the Yankees. His performance there hovered around .233/.282/.349 with 11 homers in 2013, and let’s just say 2014 wasn’t exactly a highlight reel — he was essentially paid to sit home.

Now, I’ve always had a soft spot for Wells. The dude played hard, every inning, every grounder, always sprinting full throttle—even if maybe a little more picking his battles would’ve done him good. On top of that, his charity efforts were legit, he’s a solid teammate, and it was obvious he enjoyed his time playing in Toronto. Blame the Jays’ overgenerous contract offer if anything didn’t go as planned. Playing all those years on the unforgiving surface at Rogers Centre couldn’t have been kind to his body either. Somewhere, I still have a Jays jersey with his name proudly displayed.

What did Toronto really get for those two players, Rivera and Napoli? Not a ton. Rivera’s line read .243/.305/.360 over 70 games before the Jays put him on waivers, where the Dodgers scooped him up. Napoli was swiftly traded to the Rangers for Frank Francisco. To be fair to Alex, holding onto Napoli might’ve meant losing Edwin Encarnacion, so it’s a tricky trade-off.

Shedding Vernon’s hefty deal gave Anthopoulos the leverage to make that crucial Marlins trade—may not have been perfect, but it sure stirred things up and added some spice to our baseball memories. As for the Angels’ rationale on taking on Vernon? That one still puzzles me to no end.

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Fifteen years ago today, Alex Anthopoulos managed to trade Vernon Wells, something that I figured was pretty much impossible.

The Angels took Vernon and his rather large contract in exchange for Juan Rivera and Mike Napoli.

We were:

At the time of the trade, Vernon was owed about $86 million over the next four years. His salary was to jump from $15.7 million in 2010 to $26.1 million in 2011. So it was the perfect moment to trade him.

Vernon played 2 seasons for the Angels, hitting .222/.258/.409 with 36 home runs. After that, they sent him (and a lot of money) to the Yankees. With them, Vernon hit .233/.282/.349 with 11 home runs in 2013 and was paid to stay home in 2014.

I’ll admit I always liked Wells. He was one of those guys who played full out all the time (he might have been better off to pick his spots), always ran out grounders as hard as he could, did tonnes of charity work, was a good teammate, and seemed to like playing in Toronto. It wasn’t his fault that the Jays offered him way too much money. Playing all those seasons on the hard surface at Rogers Centre likely didn’t help his career. Somewhere, I have a Jays jersey with his name on it.

We didn’t get a lot out of the two players who came to Toronto. Rivera hit .243/.305/.360 in 70 games before the Jays put him on waivers to be claimed by the Dodgers. Napoli, we quickly sent on to the Rangers for Frank Francisco. In Alex’s defense, if we had kept Napoli, we likely would have lost Edwin Encarnacion.

Dumping Vernon’s contract allowed Alex to make the trade with the Marlins, which may not have turned out the way we would have liked, but it did add some excitement to our lives for a while.

I have no idea what the thought process was on the Angels’ end of things.