Vernon Wells goes from Toronto to the Angels. Mike Napoli & Juan Rivera come back to Toronto in the 3-player deal. LA picks up $80 million plus in salary due Wells over the next 4 years. It's a risky deal, but the Angels were desperate (like the Yankees signing of Soriano) to do something to put people in the stands after a terrible 2010.
Old "friends" & ex-Red Sox players Johnny Damon & Manny Ramirez ink free agent 1-year deals with the Tampa Bay Rays. Damon get $5 million plus as a part-time player & Manny gets $2 million, a far cry from his $20 mil a year each of his last 10 years. Again, Tampa Bay had to do something after their fire sale of 2010 players to get people in the stands - which they couldn't fill when the Rays were a good team. Lucky us, we get to see Damon & Manny return to Fenway 9 more times this year.
My thought is that these are all desperation signings of older players who may or may not contribute during the year. The Angels, by far, have taken the biggest gamble with Wells.
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