Vernon Wells has been the subject of many trade rumors lately, but up until today I had taken them all as just that, rumors. However the Star-Ledger is reporting that the Jays "made Wells available" on Thursday and that Omar Minaya managed to fit in a quick conversation about Wells with Jays' GM J.P. Ricciardi before the close of the Winter Meetings. The article goes on to suggest that the Jays should now be eager to trade Wells:
…after losing out in their pursuit of free-agent pitchers Gil Meche and Ted Lilly this week, the Jays are more likely than ever to deal Wells to address their shortage of starting pitching. Beyond Roy Halladay and A.J. Burnett, Toronto's rotation is Olsen-twins thin.
And I would have to agree.
In contrast, Blue Jays president and CEO Paul Godfrey said on Friday, "I've said right from the beginning that Vernon is our first order of business after free agency." MLB.com's Jordan Bastian goes on to say that the money that was not spent on pitchers Ted Lilly and Gil Meche could be added to the pot to sweeten a contract extension for Wells.
So, the loss of Lilly and Meche means one of two things: that the Jays or hot to trade Wells, or that the Jays are not hot to trade Wells. We'll just have to wait and see which it is!
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Friday, December 8th, 2006 at
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The Blue Jays need to trade Wells for an ace. Who can possibly win the CY Young next year.
Jays don't need an ace. They have Roy Halladay who is a contender for the CY young every year. They need a #3/#4 starter(s). It seems that the best option is acquiring B.Penny.
Now that Wells is off the table, can the Jays still put together a nice package for Penny?