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.