Time for Halladay suitors to “suit up”
It’s a bitter pill to swallow, but I’m come to grips with the fact that Roy Halladay is likely not going to be a Blue Jay for much longer. The poor guy was dangled like chum in front of hungry sharks at the trade deadline, and now Alex Anthopoulous has the daunting task of trading away the franchise’s best player.
By this point, I’m sure Alex Anthopoulos and Paul Beeston have narrowed down the candidates to which they are willing to trade Roy Halladay to. Ultimately, Doc has the final the say the matter so that means any potential suitors must be contendors and give him a chance at winning.
Below is what I believe to be the short list of candidates for Roy Halladay:
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Los Angeles Angels
The Angels seem to be the front-runners on the short-list to land Halladay in a trade. They have handily won the AL West the past five out of six years and would give Doc arguably the best chance to pitch in the playoffs. Whether or not John Lackey walks away from the Angels, they could definitely benefit from having Halladay in their rotation (then again, who wouldn’t?) Plus, Mike Scioscia knows that if he has to yank Roy Halladay from a game, that he won’t give him lip like Lackey did.
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Dodgers are no longer high on Chad Billingsley, and Los Angeles needs a bona fide ace to anchor their starting rotation. A deal swapping Halladay for Billingsley makes perfect sense … not to mention, Halladay would rack up the wins facing teams in the NL Central. No more of this playing second fiddle in the Cy Young voting.
Philadelphia Phillies
At the trade deadline, the Phillies went home with the second-best looking gal at the prom (Cliff Lee) but now they have an opportunity to bring in the valedictorian of the pitching class in the majors. Luckily for the Blue Jays, the Phillies still have many of the players they were hoping for initially at the trade deadline. If the Phils would part with J.A. Happ and Kyle Draebeck, this deal could happen and would immediately give the Phillies the best starting rotation in baseball.
Boston Red Sox
The Red Sox probably have the deepest farm system and young major league talent to offer up to the Blue Jays to get Halladay. Whether they would be willing to part with Clay Buchholz, Michael Bowden or others remains to be seen.
New York Yankees
Out of all the places that Roy Halladay could be traded to, this would be my biggest nightmare. If traded to New York, not only does Alex Anthopoulos give the Yankees an even better chance at repeating as World Champions, it also means the Blue Jays would have to face Doc at least three or four times in divisional match ups. Great for television ratings, but bad for our souls.
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As a New Yorker and Yankee hater my worst nightmare would be a Halladay trade to the Yankees. Any other team PLEASE!
not to nitpick, but masterson went to cleveland in the victor martinez trade
Anon, for your sake and ours I hope the same. I know Halladay wants to win and what better way to guarantee yourself of chance to play in the post-season than to align yourself with the defending champs … but somehow I don't see Doc taking that bait. My top two picks are the Angels and Dodgers.
btc, dually noted and corrected.
I think there are some dark horse potential suitors for Halladay that would like to be involved in the discussion, but Halladay may not okay a deal. These include:
Colorado – Halladay's hometown and could be a serious threat with the addition of Halladay. They've got load of talent to deal including Jhoulys Chacin, Seth Smith, Dexter Fowler, Carlos Gonzalez, Christian Friedrich, and Eric Young Jr.
Brewers – Have made no secret that they desire starting pitching and were willing to pay big bucks to keep CC Sabathia last year. They won't likely give up Alcides Escobar now that Hardy is gone, however a package around Matt Gamel and Brett Lawrie could be interesting.
Rangers – Some have suggested that Halladay declined a trade to Texas in the summer, however if that's not the case, Texas has interest and prospects, but maybe not the money. I would hope that the Jays would demand Justin Smoak and a couple of Neftali Feliz, Derek Holland, Tommy Hunter or Julio Borbon. There are other prospects with very high ceilings in the minors as well.
NY Mets – Have the interest but lack the talent to send back to Toronto
Chicago White Sox – Unlikely, but Kenny Williams is never one to count out. Can you imagine a rotation that included by Buehrle, Danks, Peavy, Halladay and Floyd. As for what they could give up to get him, I'm a big fan of Daniel Hudson, and also like Flowers.
One more:
San Francisco – While they usually prefer to sign or trade for mediocre players like Aaron Rowand, Edgar Renteria and Barry Zito, they may have finally realized that you should only target the best. They will most likely try to add a bat, but getting Halladay may tempt them, and if they are willing to part with Madison Bumgarner or Buster Posey, they could put a package together that is good enough.
Peter, your knowledge of the farm systems in the majors is outstanding. I might have to recruit you to do a guest post one of these days!
All of these teams have an outside chance, but I'll still stick with my top two as the Dodgers and Angels.