Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

In a deal that sent shock waves through the baseball community last weekend, the Toronto Blue Jays sent Vernon Wells and his monstrous contract to the Los Angeles Angels in exchange for Mike Napoli and Juan Rivera.

The day most Angel fans surely knew would be coming is here. Mike Napoli, along with Juan Rivera, has been traded to the Toronto Blue Jays for Vernon Wells. 

While I was making dinner (grilled chicken with some garlic mashed potatoes), I had the MLB Network’s Hot Stove Live on in the background. Just as I was about to mash my potatoes (homemade, baby!

After teams were no longer talking about Cliff Lee, Carl Crawford, Adrian Beltre and Jayson Werth, they began talking about Carl Pavano. That, in a nutshell, is the story of the 2011 MLB offseason: all or nothing.

We can talk about how the Rangers and Yankees lost out on Cliff Lee, we can talk about how the Rays lost loads of talent to free agency. But, if one thing is for certain, it is that no team felt a harder hit than the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. 

I always knew that Arte Moreno would do something this offseason, I just didn't know when he would strike or how conventional the move would be.  

The Angels' owner struck in the quiet of the January offseason, making his trademark splash in the trade pool Friday by jettisoning out-of-position Mike Napoli and Juan Rivera for Gold Glove center fielder Vernon Wells.

On Friday the Los Angeles Angels landed former All-Star center fielder, Vernon Wells, in a trade with the Toronto Blue Jays.

The Blue Jays will receive catcher Mike Napoli and outfielder Juan Rivera, both of whom have only one year left on their current deals.

Wells will be waiving his no-trade clause with Toronto as the Angels will be forced to pay him an owed $86 million over the course of the next four seasons.

The hot stove is starting to cool, as we are less than a month from pitchers and catchers reporting. So, let’s stoke that fire a bit with more prospect talk. This series on prospects will cover a wide range of players as well as positions. We’ll cover sleepers and even some of the more obvious stars of the future.

The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim appear to have missed their window of opportunity during the Vladimir Guerrero era by not making the World Series over his six seasons in Anaheim.

We are now seeing the ramifications of spending large and not winning. Los Angeles is left with a bloated payroll and a roster that has serious depth issues at the major and minor league level with no immediate help on the way. It's time Tony Reagins and Arte Moreno admit the Angels have issues and change course.

Few teams in the major leagues have had as rough an offseason as the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. The team once aspired, perhaps with stars in their eyes, to sign both Carl Crawford and Adrian Beltre this winter. After a flurry of moves during and shortly after the Winter Meetings left the Angels seemingly alone in the marketplace with Beltre, they seemed certain to get at least that consolation prize.

The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim will have their work cut out for them in 2011. Fierce competition looms ahead, but not from the defending AL West Champion Texas Rangers or improved Oakland A's.

This season, the Angels' greatest challenge will be overtaking the Seattle Mariners—for third place in the division.