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.
PS- let Hamels win 20 ONCE before he's referred to as an "ace". While great in the playoffs last year, he's been nothing but a slightly better than average pitcher otherwise.— Ron- Just a thought: the Dodgers probably will try to convince the Indians to take Billingsley instead of Kershaw, because they see the Phillies as their top competition and are trying to neutralize our LH-heavy lineup by acquiring another pretty good lefty.— EL Zorro
- Why the Phils are looking at left handed pitchers and bench players is puzzling? Willingham (Wash) and Cairo would help the team without a large lose of talent. Having Brundlett and Baco as reserves is crazy.— tulsaphil
- Koufax was a lefty !!!— mick314
- doubt that you can get Lee for carrasco and donald. if they could, they should just pay what toronto wants for halladay and do the lee deal too. it would be a dream to roll out Halladay, Hamels, Lee and Blanton in the playoffs. But I think its just that. A dream. Lee will cost more.— bm2626
- I couldn't agree more with chris d, the longer Toronto waits the less leverage they have. They will never get more for Halladay than they will right now. They have nothing to gain by having him the remainder of this season and will have to pay him. Lee has a Cy Young, but it was 1 extreme season in a mediocre career. Halladay is a no-brainer.— smfree31
- st ... No, that "guy from AZ" is not available. Why are we even talking about him?— GoPhilsGo
- Bring Mitch Williams back. He will sure up the bullpen. Bring up Drabek as the 5th starter. Trade Lights Out Lidge for a sack of potatoes and a case of Schmidts.— JAWS#7
- People keep throwing Haren as an option because DMurph put that in his blog a couple weeks ago. He's 28 years old and his contract runs through 2013. There is no reason whatsoever for AZ to trade him.— samtheman
- Overall, there's been a lot of good info coming from the Inquirer that broadcast outlets have carried. I'm still hopeful that we get Halladay. If not, Lee's not a bad alternative. If we don't get a pitcher, then I'm for filling the hole on the bench. Get Willingham as a fourth OF and a solid RH hitter off the bench. Give Cairo another chance as utility IF. We're not that far from a two-peat. And yes, Mick, Koufax was a lefty. And, what a lefty he was.— CenterCityPhan
- As usual, it's pretty hard to trust any of these trade rumors as accurate. Now Fox Sports has this to say about the Phillies offer: "The Phillies made a new offer that was rejected by the Jays over the weekend, sources said. The offer, according to ESPN.com, included left- hander J.A. Happ, right-hander Carlos Carrasco, outfielder Michael Taylor and shortstop Jason Donald. Two sources, however, said those names were inaccurate. One said the Phillies' offer was actually stronger than the one that was reported, though it did not include prized right-hander Kyle Drabek." Until there's an actual trade, all of this is just speculation. Honestly, sports reporters don't even need legitimate sources anymore...they can just make up this garbage...it's Boldin to the Eagles all over again.— JimG
- Make the Jays sweat...we have the studs to get him without giving up all our prospects..no one else in these discussions eve ncomes close to what the Phils can offer,,I had my doubts, and didn't want Halladay because he was to expensive..but now I'm leaning towards "yes" because we can get hm more on our terms..Lee is fine too, if Halladay is ungettable...is that a word????— merlinknghts
- LOOKING AT HAREN'S NUMBERS I'D SAY HE WAS PLAN "B" NOT LEE. THE RATIO OF STRIKEOUTS TO WALKS ARE JUST THE THING FOR THE BANK. IT'S BEEN REPORTED THE FRONT OFFICE IS OUT THERE FOR THIS SERIES SO DON'T BE SUPPRISED IF THEY COME HOME WITH HAREN.— Wally 24
- Jays fan here. For those who believe the Phils have the upper hand in negotiations-- you are crazy. Halladay is arguably the best pitcher in baseball and he isn't a free agent until AFTER 2010. How are the Jays under the gun to do something? And do you think Philly is the only team interested? Come on... Why wouldn't we expect a crop of top prospects? He isn't a rental at this point and is still very much in his prime. His 'bad' games he still pitches 7 innings and gives up 4 runs, 1 BB and 7 K. You want perhaps the best pitcher in baseball? Then be prepared to deal your top prospects. Otherwise, Halladay can pitch in T.O the rest of this year and all of next and if he walks the Jays get two supplemental first rounders, who might turn out to be as good as the "second-tier prospects" Philly is trying to pawn off in a trade.— CorySmith
- CorySmith --- THE PHILS MADE A COUNTER OFFER TO THE JAYS DEMANDS FOR ALL THE TOP SHELF PROSPECTS PLUS HAPP WHO IS 7-1. THAT OFFER WAS IGNORED SO UNLESS THE JAYS CONTACT THE PHILS WITH ANOTHER PROPOSAL I DON'T SEE HOW HALLADAY COMES HERE. IT SEEM FAR MORE LIKELY THAT THEY MAY WORK A DEAL FOR HAREN IN ARIZONA. SO RELAX MAYBE YOU'LL GET TO SEE HIM FOR ANOTHER YEAR AND A HALF.— Wally 24
