Vernon Wells, the proprietor of what is labelled as one of the worst contracts in baseball history, may finally be moved by the Toronto Blue Jays organization in a reported deal with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

Fox Sports baseball reporter Ken Rosenthal broke the news that Wells will be on the move to the Angels with Toronto receiving catcher Mike Napoli & outfielder Juan Rivera in return. Mike Wilner of the Fan 590 radio in Toronto confirms the same deal. Wells has reportedly waived his no-trade clause and underwent a physical in Anaheim earlier today.

If the deal is indeed completed it will certainly be yet another outstanding personnel move pulled off by Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos, who is certainly earning a name for himself cleaning up the mess that was left behind when previous general manager J.P. Ricciardi was let go by the franchise.

Wells, a life-long Blue Jay is signed through 2014 owning a contract worth a ridiculous $126 million over seven years.

Here is the best news about this deal taking place for Toronto; the most expensive years of the current contract begin this season with the outfielder set to make $23 million proceeded by earnings of $21 million in each of 2012, 2013 and 2014. Surely the Jays will send some kind of financial compensation the Angels way in the deal, but it is guaranteed that the move will save Toronto a large sum of money in the long run, as well as rid themselves of an underachieving and aging player. Wells just turned 32.

The Angels plan on moving outfielder Torii Hunter to right field, so the need for a center fielder is there and they will free up an outfield spot for Wells with Rivera coming the Jays way. The Angels also needed to free up a spot on their Major League depth chart at the catching position hence the trade of Napoli. This will allow for Jeff Mathis and highly-touted prospect Hank Conger to take over behind the plate.

Vernon Wells had his ups and downs in Toronto, unfortunately he may be remembered for his downs thanks to his contract.

Although the Angels have added a need, they may in fact be the losers in the trade. Poor batting average aside, Napoli alone produced at almost the same offensive level as Wells last season hitting .238 with 26HR & 68RBI while Wells hit .273 with 31HR & 88RBI. Napoli earned $3.6 million as opposed to Wells’  $12.5 million in 2010. Add on Rivera ( set to earn a salary of $5.25 million in 2011) with his .252 average with 15HR & 52RBI and the deal could be a steal for Toronto. It will give the team two bats that can produce in the line-up on an everyday basis, insurance at the catching position in case J.P. Arencibia does not show well out of Spring Training, allows the team to DH Rivera or use him as an extra outfielder in case they choose to use Jose Bautista at third base and saves the team money in the long run as they look towards their future.

The deal provides more flexibility in so many ways for the Jays, most notably providing more finances to use towards their budding farm system which has been drastically improved by Anthopoulos and his scouting and player development teams. The extra finances could also be used to go above slot on players taken in this season’s upcoming entry draft, which Toronto holds an abundance of picks in.

In my opinion Anthopoulos is proving himself as one of the savviest general managers in baseball, despite only owning the position for a little over a season. What most in the baseball world thought impossible he has pulled off with one single deal, if in fact the deal is legitimate and goes through as reported.

Although Wells was loved by the fan base for the majority of his career in Toronto and is a three-time All-Star as well as three-time Gold Glove winner the contract may have killed any hope of him being remembered as one of the great Blue Jays in the minds of the Toronto faithful. He may be in the upper echelon as far as team statistics are concerned, but the bitter taste he left in the fan’s mouths during underachieving seasons after the contract was signed may be too much for some to swallow when considering him as an all-time Toronto great. He did battle numerous injuries while producing at a reasonably high level, but it was obviously not enough to warrant the contract that he was handed in 2006 by Ricciardi.

The Blue Jays will certainly remember Wells and his many accomplishments for the team, but what could be remembered more was the below-average play that came after the contract was signed, pushing him in the negative light of the baseball world.