(Yeah I know, some of this didn't happen over the weekend. But I wasn't writing about it, so it's like it didn't happen until the weekend--I am that powerful) The Angels went into the off-season with some money to burn, hoping they could sign a big bat or maybe get in on Cliff Lee, although that was always a long shot. At one point, they fancied themselves the front-runner to land third baseman Adrian Beltre, but they whiffed. All dressed up and nowhere to go, the Angels turned their attention to the trade market, found a suitable trade partner in Toronto and landed Vernon Wells. On the surface, a player like Wells sounds good for the Angels. He rebounded nicely in 2010 from some down years in the power department, hitting 31 home runs and Slugging .515 with an ISO score of .242. But everyone in Toronto had a surge in power last year, and for a slugging right hander Wells never offered much in the on-base department (career .329 OBP). So as a hitter he's limited, but what about his defense? Once a slightly above average fielder, Wells has had well below average UZR scores the last 3 seasons in center, and at age 32, those scores probably won't get better anytime soon. Couple that with the presence of Peter Bourjos and Wells seems to be fixing for a permanent move to a corner outfield spot, where his bat no longer profiles as above average. Ok, Ok so he's isn't all-star caliber, but a useful player for the right pri....OH MY GOD HE'S OWED $86 MILLION OVER THE NEXT 4 SEASONS! 86 million, for a player who showed obvious decline before last season, covering his ages 32-35 seasons. Gulp.
In return, the Blue Jays received C Mike Napoli and OF Juan Rivera. In Rivera, the Jays acquire an overpaid (5.25 Mill. for 2011) 4th outfielder who shows marginal to bad defensive skills with a little bit of pop. Mostly a salary dump on the part of the Angels, laughable considering the contract they added. Napoli is a different story. Toronto will have control of him for 2 more seasons at varying arbitration prices (this year he's asked for $6.1 million, the Angels countered with $5.3 mill so he'll get something in that window). Even if Napoli wins his arbitration case, the combined salaries of the 2 players Toronto received will still be nearly $12 million less than what they would have paid Wells in 2011. Napoli has played in parts of 5 seasons at the major league level, but has only recorded more than 500 plate appearances once, in 2010. Sporadic play makes assessment a bit harder, but Napoli has consistently shown good power for a catcher and solid on-base skills, even if he only hits around .250. His worst season was last year, when he only had a .316 on-base percentage but maintained good power with a .233 ISO. Perhaps the increased workload negatively affected performance, something that wouldn't be as big a concern going forward. Napoli is only 29, isn't too expensive and is an upgrade over "all-star" John Buck. Win for the Blue Jays.
Apparently Mike Scioscia didn't really love Mike Napoli.
More Delightful Random Baseball For Your Reading Pleasure...
The Rays have reunited Manny Ramirez and Johnny Damon. Platoon's are fine in a pinch for positional players, but carrying 2 guys around to platoon DH, without much of a defensive return seems like overkill. Yeah, Damon can still run down balls in the corner outfield, but my god his arm is terrible.
Royals signed Billy Butler to a 4 year extension. This is a good move for The Royals, especially with the crop of talented you guys it has in the farm system. The Royals could become contenders for the AL central by 2013.
No comments:
Post a Comment