Like it or not, Vernon Wells may be stuck on the Angels bench.

He's not going to play regularly, the team insists. And now he's very unlikely to be traded.

While the team explored some possible Wells trades in the weeks after signing Josh Hamilton, sources say that owner Arte Moreno was never willing to pay a substantial part of the $42 million remaining on the final two years of Wells' contract.

Without the Angels paying most of the money, they never had much chance of moving Wells.

The Phillies, who showed some interest in Wells, instead filled their need for an outfielder this week by signing Delmon Young for $750,000.

Wells has been a disappointment with the Angels, who took on his huge contract when they acquired him from the Blue Jays two winters ago. He has just a .667 OPS and only 36 home runs in 791 at-bats, and even when he was healthy last year, he began to lose some playing time.

Even before the Angels signed Hamilton, general manager Jerry Dipoto insisted that Wells wouldn't be a regular in 2013. The original plan was for Peter Bourjos to join Mike Trout and Mark Trumbo in the everyday outfield. Then it was Hamilton, Trout and Bourjos, with Trumbo becoming the designated hitter (and Kendrys Morales getting traded to the Mariners).

Dipoto plans to meet with Wells to discuss the situation.