Jays ask for Drabek, Happ and Brown for Halladay
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Jays ask for Drabek, Happ and Brown for Halladay
Andy Martino
Well, here it is, the Blue Jays asking price for Roy Halladay: Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi has spoken to the Phillies within the past 24 hours and negotiations are underway in earnest, baseball sources tell the Inquirer. They want Kyle Drabek, J.A. Happ and Dominic Brown.
That's what they've asked for. It remains to be seen how the Phils will respond to that. Keep in mind that in a negotiating process, offers evolve; this would not necessarily be the deal, if one is done. The Phils could counter with something entirely different.
When Charlie Manuel said yesterday “I prefer the horse,” the horse had a name: Halladay. As the Phillies and Blue Jays negotiate, figuring out who to include or not in a potential trade, there is a buzz around the clubhouse. Phillies players have pulled me aside, asking, “Hey, off the record, are we going to get Doc? What will we have to give up?
Manuel was asked today if he’d revised the thoughts he expressed about two weeks ago re: giving up Drabek. Here’s what he said a few hours ago: "I like Drabek and the basic reason I say that is, when I look at him, the style of pitcher that he is, I look at his upside. I look at his tools. I look at the kind of pitcher he is - I call him a drop and drive pitcher - and I think he's on the order of Nolan Ryan or Tom Seaver or Colon, guys like that with a real strong core, strong legs, get a big push off the rubber to produce power. It's a style that usually makes for a long career. That's what I see."
Two weeks ago, he said clearly: “For me, it would be tough to trade Drabek.” Today, compliments about the kid, no concrete plea to keep him around.
So which is it, Charlie--do you want the horse or the pony? You probably can’t have both. And if you can, you sure can’t have J.A. Happ anymore.
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A conversation I had with Cole Hamels a few hours ago made me think about another way that Halladay could help this team. Hamels has struggled all season with the concept of being an ace, sometimes wanting to play that role so badly that it affected his performance.
Today he talked about how having Brett Myers pitching well helped him down the stretch last year: “The past couple years, Brett was here, and we had that awesome camaraderie, competition to make each other better,” he said. “He's gone. Happ and Blanton have stepped up, and that's good. That makes it a little easier on me.”
In other words, now that Blanton and Happ are pitching well, Hamels has been able to let go of his need to be a stopper, which has enabled him to just pitch. The impact of this was clear last night when Hamels allowed three runs in the fourth inning. When the Phils were on a losing streak in Toronto and Atlanta recently, Hamels wanted so badly to be an ace that, when things went badly, he got all upset and pitched even worse. Last night, he was able to regroup, stay calm and post another three scoreless innings, partially because he knew that the team did not absolutely NEED to win the game he started.
Can you imagine what it would do for him to have Halladay here? The new guy would not only grab all the attention, and take it off Hamels. And, the man they call Doc is a fully realized pitcher, and could teach young Colbert new things about throwing a white sphere past large men carrying wooden bats.
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I leave you with two pieces of advice: 1) Enjoy Happ tonight, on the chance it’s his final start here. You can’t let him hold up a Halladay deal, and I don’t believe the Phillies would, but he is a fun pitcher to watch. He’s confident without being arrogant, aggressive and intelligent. He’s helped to set a tone for the rotation lately that has helped them get on a roll. The past few weeks have been tough on him, enduring all the speculation and questions, and it will all be over one way or another very soon. I'm not saying he's a goner, but I knew the Jays are interested in him.
2) Turn off the computer, turn off the radio, de-tweetify your handheld device. There is a higher demand for information than there is actual information during deadline time, and the whole thing gets very silly. GMs offer strategic half-truths to the media, who rush them online just to feed the beast. Let’s just enjoy the games. Check in occasionally and I’ll let you know when news happens.
Comments (321)
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Giving up all 3 of them is too much, but that's what negotiations are all about. They ask for this. You counter with that and hopefully meet somewhere in the middle. But I would not be happy if they gave up both Happ and Drabek. I could live with giving up either/or, but definitely not both. If I had the option, I'd move Happ. His trade value is never going to be higher than it is today.— derrickwh- If they gave up Carrasco instead of Drabek it would be perfect. Still, the only real concern would be Brown. However they keep Taylor and Donald, plus maybe Carrasco will pan out. I am not sold on Happ at all, I would trade him in a heartbeat— LGbalsac
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- the only concern I have is I hope the parade(s) are different the next couple years......— eagles2010
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dag, rain delay...anyhow,stigs my man, the point is - not that Happ is gonna be a multi-Cy Young award or anything, but if you include him in this COLOSSAL trade of blue chip prospects PLUS a quality SP in exchange for a year and half rental of a dominating pitcher, than that still leaves a hole in the rotation THIS year...I don't like the trade either way, but if it happens, how will the Phils go about filling that hole?...and if you say Martinez or Moyer, than that's taking a gamble in of itself.— bboybeballin- If they hadn't won the World Series last year I'd say do it. Now the only way I'd do it if you were assured to extend Halladays contract. We're not desperate so don't act it.— dabirds
- It's a ridiculous price for one guy. He's already had some injury concerns this year - who says that he'll be fine the rest of the season? It also would cripple the farm system and make it impossible to really try to get anyone else. I think these demands show that most of the Phillies minor leaguers just aren't in much demand by the rest of the league.— catnameddomino
- Giving up J.A. happ who is 7-0 this year in the majors, along with Kyle Drabek who is 6-1 with a 3.12 era in reading and is almost ready for the majors, and an amazing athlete in Dominic Brown, who has nothing but a bright future ahead of him all for Roy Halladay? Why would wanyone want to do that? Halladay is 32 years old, and was just on the DL. Most likly you only have him for a year and a half, and he doesnt guarentee a world series title. He helps our chances, but doesnt guarentee anything. Why not get a pitcher like Cliff lee whos asking price is half this. I just think this trade is rediculous, and the asking price is way to high.— Lesean09
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The Phillies Zone is the place for up-to-the-minute Phillies coverage from the Inquirer.
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