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New Angels outfielder Vernon Wells surely will return from his groin injury and lift his .183 batting average from below the Mendoza line to something more befitting the high-priced major leaguer that he is. But whatever he does do, the trade that sent Wells and much of the hefty amount left on his contract from Toronto to the Angels was still the Holy Grail of trades for the Blue Jays and the best move made this winter by any team. In a shock to everyone in baseball, the Angels -- apparently desperate to add a big bat after failing to sign Carl Crawford -- took all but $5 million of the $86 million to go on Wells' deal. Originally the teams announced that the Angels were taking the whole contract. That proved to good to be true for the Blue Jays, though not by much very much.

The trade of Wells heads the early list of the best moves of the winter so far:

1. The Blue Jays send Wells and $5 million to the Angels for catcher Mike Napoli.

The remarkable thing about this deal was that Wells had a no-trade clause and limited the teams to which he would accept a trade to the Angels and his hometown Rangers. With Texas not interested, Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos had to make a deal with the Angels if one was to be made at all. Fortunately for Toronto, the Angels needed to add offense and were turned off by a free-agent market that was yielding monster deals to the best players. Wells had a decent bounce-back year in 2010, making the All-Star team and hitting 31 homers, which it turns out was just enough to convince the Angels they were getting a productive middle-of-the-order hitter. The Angels also apparently sold themselves (or maybe Toronto sold them) that they were getting a star on the shorter term of four years. What the Blue Jays actually did get was financial relief to the max. Anthopoulos said by phone, "Financially, it put us in better position to do what we wanted to do.'' As a bonus, the Blue Jays got back hard-hitting catcher Mike Napoli, who they then sent to Texas for hard-throwing righthander Frank Francisco, who's become a co-closer in Toronto and has three saves.

2. Blue Jays sign Jose Bautista to a $65-million, five-year contract extension.

Toronto saved themselves tens of millions with this master stroke, building on the brilliance of the Wells deal. Anthopoulos was annihilated at the time, as some figured he was wasting the money saved from the Wells miracle. But by giving big bucks to Bautista, who some figured was a one-year wonder after he hit 54 home runs in 2010, it turns out Anthopoulos kept the player who has turned into a superstar in Toronto. Bautista has not only improved from his alleged career year, he has been the best player in baseball this season. And it's not really close. He has an otherworldly 1.301 OPS overall (and a crazy 1.772 OPS at home). As Rays manager Joe Maddon said, Bautista is like Barry Bonds, circa 2001. Anthopoulos said, "I'm done saying he can't do something. I'm just going to watch and enjoy.'' Bautista really can't be blamed for quickly capitalizing on his out-of-nowhere season. How could anyone have known even better was yet to come? But it looks now like if Bautista had waited, he would have joined Prince Fielder and Albert Pujols in the superstar free-agent market this winter and probably beaten $150 million. And the Jays would have been out of luck.

torontoaces04 wrote:Though I normally view SI as an irrelevant sports entity that just shoots supermodels in bikini's, I must say I completely agree with both assessments.

10. Brewers acquire righthanded pitcher Shaun Marcum from Toronto for prospect Brett Lawrie. Marcum has been the Brewers' most consistent starter, going 4-1 with a 2.72 ERA while striking out 50 in 49 2/3 innings despite a fastball in the high 80s. Lawrie is an exciting young player and one of the best righthanded hitting prospects in the minors, but Marcum is a necessity for Milwaukee.