Halladay remains top choice, Lee Plan B
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Halladay remains top choice, Lee Plan B
Andy Martino
There have been numerous reports on the back-and-forth between the Phils and Jays, enough to make your head spin. So here is what we know right now:
--The Phillies’ strong preference is to acquire Halladay, but they were expected to send superscout Charley Kerfeld to watch 2008 American League Cy Young Award Winner Cliff Lee pitch for
Baseball sources indicate that the Phillies might be able to pry Lee away from Cleveland with a package of second-tier prospects like Carlos Carrasco and Jason Donald (by second-tier, I mean not phenoms like Kyle Drabek and Dominic Brown).
--The Phillies are highly reluctant to surrender both Drabek and J.A. Happ. Outfield prospects Michael Taylor and Dominic Brown have been mentioned as possible pieces in a deal, and both teams believe that Brown has more potential than
--The entire Phillies front office will be on a plane to Arizona tonight to discuss these issues. They typically only travel with one executive, but trade deadline week is a wild one. Stay tuned.
I think we should go after Lee. The difference in ERA is nominal, and we won't have to give up as much. Remember, Lee is also a CY Young Winner.— FloridaBrian- If Lee can be had for what you just listed....I say why not? He's certainly shown he can be effective! And by the way, look what Blanton just did again today...and we supposedly "settled" for him last year!— SMOKEY811
- I think they should trade for Lee and keep the top prospects. They just need to get a top 10 pitcher not the best pitcher. Getting Halladay ensures nothing.— jeep
- One thing to keep in mind with prospects is that teams and scouts often disagree on which players have more potential and these are basically just educated guesses. Last season at this time, Carrasco, Donald and Marson were considered our top prospects and now they are being called "second-tier" prospects.— JimG
- The "getting Halladay doesn't guarantee anything" argument is not a valid argument. Obviously, nothing is guaranteed. If we do nothing, we aren't guaranteed to win. If we get Halladay, we aren't guaranteed to win. If we get Lee, we aren't guaranteed to win. There are no guarantees in sports...it's all about giving yourself the best chance to win and Halladay is a significantly better pitcher than Lee and gives us a better chance to win. You could argue against any trade by saying it shouldn't be done because getting the players in the trade won't guarantee that we win.— JimG
- I'm not hearing anything in the wind about Dan Haren, and the Phils are heading to Arizona for three games. To me, Haren would be a better Plan B (if available) than Lee.— southpaw57
- Hey, let's get both Halladay and Lee! JK. Would rather still get Halladay if the Jays will settle for Happ, Taylor +1 or 2 not named Drabek or Brown. Just my opinion.— Phillyache
- There is no evidence that Haren is on the market. I have no idea why people keep bringing him up. Of course he would be a great alternative, but Arizona has shown no signs of trading him.— Mike P
- I think Haren is a Plan A.....look at his stats.— rockinrob
- Cliff Lee is left-handed. We already have 3 in the rotation. I don't see that being the optimal situation.— booman55
- Arizona isn't going to trade Haren. They have a young team already and they will get Webb back next year.— Rod72
- The Phillies current winning ways is showing the Blue Jays that we can survive just fine without their ace ... however, the Jays need to get something for Halladay before letting him walk at the end of next season. The Phillies have the upper hand in these negotiations ... the Jays will cave, or get nothing.— chris duckworth
Comment removed.- Lee going to dodgers in a huge trade...— fman727
- If the trade with the Dodgers goes through, it does nothing for the Phillies except drive up the price on the Jays end! They know if we want Halladay, they can make us pay big time because 2 of the 4 we are looking at: Lee and Bedard are out of the picture! Bedard went on the DL today!— mikeyj34
