Wells Will Start In Left

From Andrew Marchand:

"He will be the everyday left fielder," an official with knowledge of the Yankees plans told ESPN New York.

The official added that when Curtis Granderson returns, Wells will be the fourth outfielder. Since Wells is righty, he still will get at-bats as the Yankees regular outfield consists of three lefties, Granderson, Brett Gardner and Ichiro Suzuki. The official said the Yankees plan on using Wells as a DH, too, because their main DH Travis Hafner is left-handed.

...

The Yankees now have the option of keeping Juan Rivera to play first base until Mark Teixeira returns. In the outfield, they could retain Brennan Boesch as another lefty, at least until Granderson returns. Boesch has options and there is nothing in his contract, the official said, that would prevent the Yankees from sending him down to the minors.

The Yankees could consider Melky Mesa, Ronnier Mustelier and Ben Francisco for the final reserve outfield spot on the Opening Day roster insted of Boesch. Mustelier can play third, as well.

I was hoping that these injuries would give a younger player--like Melky Mesa--a chance to prove himself at the big league level, but instead they add another aging vet who hasn't been able to hit in two+ years. That said, I hope this works out for the Yanks... In other Wells-related news, it turns out this deal make actually help the Yankees financially, or at least not hurt them. Check out that story on the Daily News.

Are you interested in seeing how Vernon Wells does in a Yankee uniform or just want to get out to the Bronx to see the 2013 Yankees in person? Buy your Yankees tickets from SIH tickets.

Yankees Acquire Vernon Wells

Here's the story from Jeff Passan:

Were it not for the New York Yankees, Vernon Wells still would be a Los Angeles Angel, forever consigned to their dungeon of ill-fated maneuvers. Because the Yankees exist – and because they operate in a vacuum independent from their harrowing reality – the Angels now no longer must stare at a $100 million mistake for two more seasons.

Desperation, thy outfit is pinstripes.

The trade that would send Wells and around two-thirds of the $42 million remaining on his contract to the Yankees neared completion Sunday night, only a physical and commissioner's approval left to consummate it. Seeing as the Angels considered Wells sunk cost, the idea they would get anything, let alone savings in the parameter a source said was $12 million to $14 million, made Sunday a massive win for Los Angeles.

This was not one of those win-win trades.

For the Yankees, it was stunning. The steadiest franchise panicked after injuries dismantled its everyday lineup. The team that built itself on plate discipline traded for a 34-year-old outfielder who over the last two years hit .222, couldn't get on base even 26 percent of the time and, if that weren't bad enough, looks fit for Madame Tussauds in the outfield. And the offseason of Scrooge yielded to the spring of perhaps $7 million a year for Vernon Wells, who will fill in for a month or so until Curtis Granderson's return, and then … well, the Yankees seem to be thinking for tomorrow only, so who knows.

"I just wonder where this money was in December," one Yankees official said.

The reaction to the deal across baseball was a mix of wonderment and criticism, for to partake of Wells at this point in his career flashed alarm of which few thought the Yankees capable. Among the injuries to Granderson and Mark Teixeira, the lingering hip problems of Alex Rodriguez and the setbacks to Derek Jeter, the Yankees have endured a more brutal spring than anyone – the sort that left more than one executive on Sunday predicting a last-place finish in the American League East.

I'm confused by this deal myself. Wells has had a good spring, hitting .361 with a double and four homers, but it's spring and we all know that spring training stats basically mean nothing. The guy has been terrible since his move to the Angels and I wouldn't be too confident that he's suddenly going to find the fountain of youth.

Yankees Eying Vernon Wells?

From Anthony McCarron:

Next up on the Yankees’ winter shopping list is a righthanded-hitting outfielder, and the Angels’ Vernon Wells reportedly is a potential trade target.

The Yankees and the Angels discussed a possible deal for Wells at the baseball winter meetings in Nashville, according to a report Saturday on FoxSports.com.

The Yanks are also prowling the free-agent market in search of a righty bat to complement their all-lefty outfield of Curtis Granderson, Brett Gardner and Ichiro Suzuki. Ichiro has agreed to a two-year, $13 million contract that will become official once he takes a physical and some contract language is completed.

The Yankees have interest in Scott Hairston, who hit 20 homers for the Mets last year. They might be a match with the Angels for a trade because the Halos just signed Josh Hamilton and now have a glut of outfielders, meaning the 34-year-old Wells could be available.

Wells is due to make $21 million in both 2013 and 2014, which does not fit into the Yankees’ plan to drop their payroll under the luxury tax threshold of $189 million by 2014. So it’s likely that the Yanks would want the Angels to eat much of the contract. Wells’ contract has a no-trade clause, but he waived it for the trade that sent him from Toronto to Anaheim before the 2011 season.

I supposed a right-handed outfielder would help, but I can't see the Angels picking up that much of his salary. Well hit .230/.279/.403 with 11 HR in 77 games for the Angels last year, and hit .218/.248/.412 with 25 homers in 131 games in 2011.