Report: Angels' Moreno told former GM to deal for Wells or be fired

When general manager Alex Anthopoulos of the Toronto Blue Jays traded Vernon Wells and his $86-million contract to the Los Angeles Angels in 2011, many people were shocked he was able to pull off the deal. 

In a report by Scott Miller of CBS Sports, Angels owner Arte Moreno told then-GM Tony Reagins that he would be fired if he didn't acquire Wells. 

When the decision was made to pursue Vernon Wells from Toronto before the 2011 season, a move Scioscia is said to have endorsed, it was Moreno, one source says, who threatened then-GM Tony Reagins with a firing if Reagins didn't consummate the deal within 24 hours. Moreno is described as being chapped at having lost free agent Adrian Beltre to the Rangers roughly two weeks earlier, and that helps explain why, in an agreement that utterly stunned almost everybody in the game, the Angels agreed to pay all but $5 million of the $86 million to a player that Toronto was so eager to offload that the Jays surely could have been persuaded to pay millions more.

Mike Napoli and Juan Rivera went the other way but the real benefit for the Blue Jays was the ability to dump a major salary. 

Despite being an all-star the previous year, the then-32-year-old hit only .218/.248/.412 with 25 home runs and 65 RBI for the Angels in 2011. 

Wells spent two years with the Angels organization and hit .222/.258/.409 while belting 36 home runs and 95 RBI before being shipped off to the New York Yankees in 2013. The Angels were still on the hook for over $28 million that remained on his contract.