Now, that Halladay is on the market and the Phillies are seen as the “favorites” to land him, how much is too much for Roy Halladay?
Nothing. Well, nothing short of parting with the nucleus and the Jays aren’t looking for veterans in return, so nothing.
PS…there is no way that Ricciardi is trying to pull a fast one, right? Just tell me that he’s completely healthy. Let us quickly examine a possible room for pause:
[late May]: Halladay is the best pitcher in baseball. Ricciardi vehemently denies any thought of trading him, regardless of how far the Blue Jays fall. The owner even comes out and says how important Halladay is to the franchise
[June 13]: Halladay goes on the DL
[June 29]: Halladay makes his return from the DL and pitches 6 mediocre innings and loses to the Rays
[July 4]: Halladay pitches 7 relatively poor innings against the Yankees and gets a no-decision in a Jays loss.
[July 6]: Ricciardi says he will “entertain offers” on his formerly untouchable pitcher.
Is this fishy? Just tell me it is not because this would be Freddy Garcia times 1000 if so.
Kyle Drabek has gotten a TON of hype this season and has been dominant. Let’s build a package around him, throw in two other nice prospects (Donald, Marson, etc) and get this done.
Here is Buster Olney’s early odds to land Halladay (awesome!):
Phillies 5:2
Dodgers 8:1
Angels 8:1
Brewers 12:1
Red Sox 15:1
Rockies 20:1
Rangers 20:1
Yankees 20:1
Cardinals 50:1
Mets 100:1
I wouldn’t worry too much about the health thing. First, the Phillies will be able to check him out as much as they want before the deal is approved. Obviously that didn’t work out too well with Freddy Garcia, but I don’t really believe that the White Sox (or any other doctor) could have been sure that Garcia was so damaged. If the Blue Jays know that something is seriously wrong with Halladay, I don’t see why the Phillies wouldn’t be able to see the same damage/problem.
I think as a GM you say things like “We’re definitely not going to trade him”, unless you’re actually going to start taking serious bids for a trade. Saying things like “He’s the cornerstone of our franchise” gives the player confidence to continue performing without distraction and also probably drives up the guy’s value a bit.
I would trade any two, possibly three minor league prospects for him if you’re 100% sure he’s healthy. There isn’t anyone in our regular starting line-up I would be real comfortable trading…not saying I wouldn’t though. Halladay is the real deal.
I say we definitely go for this deal. I think he’s the caliber pitcher who can handle the Bank, and there aren’t many out there who can boast that. Whatever the deal is please include Paul Bako. That guy doesn’t know how to bunt!