Unfortunately for the Los Angeles Angels, slugger Mike Napoli is one that got away

Reporting from Toronto —  Mike Napoli was on a cruise ship somewhere near Mexico when he found out that the Angels had traded him.

He cannot recall how his phone worked, but it did. He first received a call from his agent, and then one from Angels General Manager Tony Reagins, informing him he needed to return home to take a physical. He was going to the Toronto Blue Jays, the Angels swapping Napoli and Juan Rivera for the Blue Jays’ high-priced franchise player, Vernon Wells.

Napoli, then 29, had been anticipating a trade throughout the winter, after the Angels placed the catcher/first baseman on waivers the previous season and pulled him back when the Boston Red Sox claimed him. Then, on Jan. 21, 2011, after failing to agree to terms with Adrian Beltre and other free-agent prizes, the Angels completed what is considered among the worst trades in baseball history when they acquired Wells and assumed $80 million due him.

Reagins recently wrote in a text message that he “respectfully” declined to speak about the trade. Wells did not respond to messages seeking comment. Napoli was just excited to be going elsewhere.

“As a player, you can almost tell sometimes,” he said this month. “You sense it a little bit. As time went on, I almost felt like there might be a change of scenery going on. But my time in Anaheim, I learned so much. What do I on the baseball field now is what I learned from that organization.”

What he has done since the trade is hit consistently, for a variety of teams and in a variety of positions.

Napoli didn’t hear from the Blue Jays until five days later, when they told him he had been shipped to the Texas Rangers. The next season, Napoli ravaged the Angels, the American League and then the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series. His on-base-plus-slugging percentage was among the highest in baseball, and 386 points greater than Wells’ at about one-fifth the salary. He remained with the Rangers through the 2012 season and earned his first All-Star nod while Wells sat out more than half the season.

The Angels dumped Wells’ contract on the New York Yankees the subsequent spring, swallowing most of his money. They ended up paying roughly $65 million for 208 games of replacement-level production, the contract crippling their budget through 2014 and, indirectly, beyond.

Even now, its effects are obvious. Needing a first baseman 11 months after the trade, the Angels signed Albert Pujols to a behemoth contract they must pay through 2021. When Napoli became a free agent before the 2013 season, the Red Sox opted to sign him instead of a higher-priced hitter they had targeted: Josh Hamilton. Napoli helped the Red Sox win the World Series. Still seeking a powerful left fielder, the Angels signed Hamilton, who unfortunately for the Angels gave them Wells-like production for two seasons.

“Sometimes it works out,” said Napoli, who has hit 29 home runs for the division-leading Cleveland Indians this season. “Sometimes it doesn’t. It’s the risk you take. Sometimes you need to fill a need on your team and you go after it and it doesn’t work out.”

[email protected]

Twitter: @pedromoura