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Toronto general manager Alex Anthopoulos is defending center fielder Vernon Wells.

Wells, who signed a monster contract a few seasons ago, has largely been a disappointment.

The team's highest-paid player, he hit just .260 with 15 home runs and 66 RBI in 2009.

"Vernon wants to be the best he can be," Anthopoulos said. "He's got a lot of pride. He played hurt last year [left wrist] and he took a cortisone shot in spring training and took anti-inflammatories all season."

via the tap.

while he did play hurt, he still hasnt played that well.

I guess if there are any truth to the rumors of trying to deal him a comment like the above makes a lot more sense then:

"Got Paid, Stopped Caring, Hurt his wrist Lifting his Wallet"

its one thing to "suck up" an injury and play hurt
but dont be a hero and make the team worse
which i do think he did
not alone, but he contributed to the epic fail of 2009

God I hope he's right, but I don't buy it for a second. If Wells ever gets back to .300 with some power and even league average defense and you get even a single call about him, you make that deal in an instant.

The problem with Wells is that the Jays turned him into a cleanup hitter, when he's clearly not. Both him and Rios need a legit #4 between them in order to be effective.

LBJSeizedMyID wrote:The problem with Wells is that the Jays turned him into a cleanup hitter, when he's clearly not. Both him and Rios need a legit #4 between them in order to be effective.

No offense, but there are several problems with Wells. Agreed that he is not a clean up hitter, however his approach at the plate has been brutal regardless where he hits in the line up. If I was a pitcher I would think he has to be one of the easiest hitters in baseball to pitch to.

He has no plate discipline, he swings at everything high in the zone and early in the count, he guesses ALL THE TIME, and he can't hit when it counts, or at all at home.

I would love to see Vernon (who has great base running instincts) trying to steal a hell of a lot more. If he could develop plate discipline, put him in the 1 or 2 hole, slide Hill down to 3 and have Lind hit in the 4 hole.

The bigger problem is Cito Gaston putting the line up together.

No offense taken, but when you pay someone as much as you're paying Wells, don't you think the Jays paid him to become the HR hitter they thought he was? Not only does that put pressure on Wells, but Wells himself probably sees himself as having to hit the long balls.

Not trying to defend the man. The dumb decision was to give him such a huge contract, although at the time, the Jays really needed to show that big name free agents would stay or sign there.

Boo frickity hoo... Vernon's been shite for the last 3 seasons...

it's not like he just had one bad season!

Boo frickity hoo... Vernon's been shite for the last 3 seasons...

it's not like he just had one bad season!

I'd much rather have a GM that defends his players than a classless bum that throws them under the bus. Well done AA.

What did you think AA was going to do? Pull a JP and diminish an asset by admitting, truthfully, that Wells is terrible? What value on the open market does Wells have after that (like he had any to begin with but still)?

Just put Wells back on steroids, HGH or whatever illegal substance he's been on in the early part of this decade when he did produce. Then, he'll be fine.