RealGM

Every fan probably understands the Blue Jays may need to trade Roy Halladay, sooner or later.

Alex Anthopoulos, the new GM who was, presumably, kicking tires in Chicago on several possible deals this week, wisely is not playing his cards face-up here.

With a free-agent pitching class headed by John Lackey and not a lot of dazzle behind him, the market for a standout starter of Halladay's level should be substantial.

That said, the Jays simply cannot trade Halladay to either the Red Sox or the Yankees this winter. It would be too much of a betrayal of the fans.

You can't sell the slim hope that the Jays can be reassembled soon enough to beat one of either New York or Boston and thereby get a peek at the post-season, then turn around and feed your enemy. The Jays can't play this poor-cousin card, then turn around and hand their best toy to the rich kids.

Schadenfreude wrote:We're not likely to compete with Boston or New York anytime soon, so I don't care where Doc ends up so long as it provides the best return. Now, I don't think the Yankees or Red Sox are likely to provide that return, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't be dealing with them...the more parties involved, the more likely it is that we get a good deal.

Garmfay wrote:I would do something with New York like Montero + Joba/Hughes + another prospect.

Much like at the summer deadline, the Phillies remain in the mix and one National League executive pointed out that, "Philadelphia is into winning now and Halladay fits that."


Philadelphia reached the World Series in consecutive years, but failed to repeat as champions when the Yankees dethroned them in six games. One report out of Philadelphia linked 2008 World Series MVP Cole Hamels as a player that would head to Toronto. Hamels went 10-11 in 2009, with a 4.32 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP. In 193 innings, he struck out 168 batters and walked 43.


Hamels was the centre of controversy during the World Series after his "I can't wait for it to end" comments were interpreted as throwing in the towel.

cosmostein wrote:I would gladly take the Eric Aybar, Jered Weaver, and Brandon Wood offer that was rumored last season.

Schadenfreude wrote:

cosmostein wrote:I would gladly take the Eric Aybar, Jered Weaver, and Brandon Wood offer that was rumored last season.

The big problem in that deal is Weaver: he's arb-eligible for the first time this year, and happens to be represented by Scott Boras. So while we'd have him for three years, we would have absolutely no hope of signing him long-term without paying him an absurd amount of money. By the time the team is realistically ready to be somewhat competitive, Weaver will probably be out the door.

Not saying that I wouldn't take that deal, but it's one thing to consider when evaluating offers of ML-ready players vs. those (like the many Philly variants) where most/all of the talent returned is still in the minors...if all breaks we're probably three years or four years out from any modicum of success, so our best bet is probably to go really young in the hopes that those players are reaching the big club at the same time our internal growth is showing through.